


Re:Zero IF: Treachery

by TheGuyWithShitOpinions



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Industrial Revolution, Alternate Universe - Napoleonic Wars, Ambition, Assassination Attempt(s), Brutal Murder, Feudalism, Gen, Intrigue, Irony, Near Future, Negotiations, Past Tense, Politics, Post-Betrayal, Post-Rebellion Story, Post-War, Pre-Rebellion Story, Pre-War, Rebellion, Revolution, Slavery, Slow Burn, Suffering, Technology, Terrorism, War, Weapons, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:00:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 36,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28537752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGuyWithShitOpinions/pseuds/TheGuyWithShitOpinions
Summary: I loved history and I loved technology since forever. Can't say it ever was useful, heh, I mean, you can't really make a pickup line after a printing press, but yet here I am. Never thought it was going to be useful, and yet, this whole world jump really did a number on my future. Never thought I had it in me, y'know. Never thought the name of Natsuki Subaru would be scrawled in the history books, then again, never thought those history books would be in Lugnican. Heh...
Comments: 66
Kudos: 91





	1. The Arrival

**UMPH**

**....**

**UMPH**

The chair creaked as Heinkel struck Julius, again and again, the constraints now being the only thing keeping the knight sitting up. Julius could barely see through the haze of red before his eyes but didn't give out a single sound, no matter how long the interrogation went on. There was another click of fingers. 

"Enough, Heinkel, don't knock the poor guy out." The red-haired ex-Commander of the Royal Guard stopped his swing in mid-air, and slowly lowered his fist. He then looked to the younger man sitting behind him, observing the interrogation.

  
  
"Want me to stay around?" He gruffly questioned.

"No, no, I believe me and Julius have a quick discussion to have. I will call you in again if you'll be needed." 

Heinkel Astrea snorted, "Whatever you say," and walked out of the basement-like room, slamming the wooden door as he exited, leaving the other two men in an eerie silence.

The observer huffed and stood up, "A real mess we have here, no really, we do." He picked something up and walked up to the near-unconscious knight. Julius suddenly felt something pleasantly cool run down the back of his neck. Water. He unconsciously licked his lips, he hasn't drunk anything in a day or two (time was hard to nail down exactly, without the sunlight to show the passing days) and with the stress of captivity, it felt like weeks.

  
  
There was the noise of the jug being placed down and a pair of warm hands lifted Julius's face, making sure eye contact was maintained. "And we both know there would be no mess if you would just get on with it and tell me where she is."

Julius could barely open his mouth to tell the observer to go fuck himself, and yet he did. "You can... go..."

  
  
"Fuck myself?" The observer responded with a note of amusement. "Oh please Julius, we've been through this. I don't want this to continue, you don't want this to continue. Though Heinkel seemed to be strangely supportive of meeting you again. Anyways, we both know that this is very clearly unpleasant and we both wanna leave as quickly as we can, so tell me." The observer bent down to make sure his face on the same level as Julius's. "Did Anastasia Hoshin, Leader of the Hoshin Trading Company and Enemy of the Revolution, seek and receive asylum in the Vollachia Empire?"

  
  
Julius scrunched up his face. "I don't..." 

  
  
The observer shook his head. "Oh come on Julius, wrong answer. We went through this so many times. I am asking again, did Anastasia-"

Julius spit in the observer's face, the mix of blood and spittle hitting his cheek. "As a knight of a Throne Candidate, I shall never-"

Now it was the observer's turn to interject, as he rubbed the spittle away with his sleeve. "What Throne?"

Julius gritted his teeth, or at least those that were left. "The Throne of the Lugnica Kingd-"

"Oh please, there is no more Kingdom."

"Tell that to your lap-dog, that is, whatever's left of her."

The observer grabbed Julius by the hair and pulled him up, almost pulling the knight out of his constraints, "There _are_ no more Knights, for any commoner can handle a weapon. There _is_ no more royalty, _Citizen_ Juukulius. And there _is_

_NO_

_MORE_

_THRONE._

So tell me, did Anastasia Hoshin, LEADER OF THE HOSHIN TRADING COMPANY AND ENEMY OF THE REVOLUTION, **DID SHE SEEK AND RECEIVE ASYLUM IN THE VOLLACHIA EMPIRE...** " Even with the self-control and evenness, the observer couldn't stop the low rage escaping his voice. He let go of Julius, allowing him to sink into the chair, but even with the situation utterly against him, Julius couldn't help but feel a pang of satisfaction that he was able to drive the bastard into such rage.

"Because right now, this is the beginning. And it doesn't matter whether in a day or a week or a month, you WILL answer me, covered in your own shit and piss and begging it to stop, but you WILL tell me that she-"

  
  
"Hah!" Julius wheezed. "Unlike you, Subaru, I am not a coward." He snickered and looked up at the observer. "You have not a single shred of leverage against me. You have nothing, you are nothing, even when you have me chained." 

Natsuki Subaru, with his long black hair and red flower pinned to his carmagnole jacket, stared back at the knight, his lips a thin line. Silent rage burned at his insides, Julius wasn't wrong. But that didn't mean he'd get the satisfaction of knowing it. "Fine, guess I will have to ask Joshua." Subaru gave him a gentle smile and turned around. "I will come back, and then you can answer me. Answer me correctly, that is. Heinkel!" Subaru called out and knocked on the door. "Oh, Heinkel!" 

Subaru walked away from the makeshift interrogation room, listening to the reverberating sounds of hits echoing in the underground corridors. He thought that maybe if he were present at the interrogation himself, he would have a chance at picking the Casus Beli out of the fool, but no, knights were always tough to crack. Should have left it to the professionals.

He thoughtfully passed the two patrolling Revolutionary Guards, ignoring their salutes. Finally, he entered his chamber and sat down at the desk, still covered in the inkblots and papers. He took a feather and dipped it into the ink, maybe this time he could draft it better. The work instantly stalled, no, the Constitution would not come to him. Even with the copy of the Napoleonic Code by his side, the one he brought with him from the original world, he still couldn't fit it into this world... what was he missing? What building blocs did he skip in his way here? His mind slowly drifted back to the beginning, back to his arrival, back to...

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natsuki Subaru, 17, wasn't sure where he took the wrong turn. "I..." He looked left and right. "Wh..." He froze as he felt something brush behind him. Quickly turning around he noticed a dog-man give him a suspicious look as he passed by him. The boy's voice caught in his throat. He looked around again. A lively street, guards in medieval armour, street vendors. Maybe he's in... some weird festival..? 

He tightly shut his eyes, covered his ears and counted to ten. Upon opening them, nothing changed, besides another few weird glances from another couple of strangers, one of them clearly a.. gecko...

"No... No! I-!" He pulled his book bag close to his body and took a few steps forward. The steps turned into a walk, then a jog, until he was sprinting at full speed, blindly stumbling around the streets. "I have... I have to get OUT!!!" 

Did he get drugged? Kidnapped? Is he dead? How-

His legs carried him in an unknown direction, the buildings disappearing into the distance, being replaced by hovels. He didn't know for how long he ran but when he sat down exhausted, legs aching, it didn't matter. Thankfully he took a turn into a narrow alley, away from the madness, just enough to collect his thoughts. His mind seemed to freeze, he needed to swallow down all the new information. He sat still for minutes, or maybe hours, but he finally took notice of the time he wasted only when the sun seemed to stop shining on him, and started to roll behind the alley's buildings. He got up.

"There must be an explanation... there must..." 

He scratched at his bag and fished out his phone. His finger froze at the unlock screen. No signal.

"What the hell what the hell what the hell what the hell..." He mumbled as he checked over his thing again. His books were still there, his pencil case, his phone, a bag of chips. His school bag was all the same. He checked his uniform, but the drab shirt and blazer haven't become any less boring than they were before. If he was drugged, then it was a very choosy drug, his perception wasn't any different. His eyes darted around. No, this clearly isn't his world, not his reality. Then... 

He slapped his cheeks, "Focus..." After putting the phone in his pocket, he sat against the wall of the alley again. His eyes scanned his surroundings. Mud-straw huts, dirt roads, the smell of shit. Feels like I got thrown back a couple of centuries... though there were never lizard people in the history humanity, at least if you don't believe the conspiracy theorists. So he clearly hasn't moved in space or at least not in Earthly space, nor in time, that just means he jumped-

"Into a parallel uni-!"

Suddenly there was a rumble over his head and he could feel something cold pour on his head. Instinctually he screamed and jumped forward, looking backwards. The ground he just stood on was wet, and as he looked up he noticed a young woman holding an empty bucket, looking back at him intensely from the hovel's second-floor window. He froze.

There was a short silence, after which the young woman seemed to lose interest in the loud boy, "Watch where you're standing!" she shouted annoyedly and shut the window with the same low rumble she opened it with. 

"S-sorry..?" Subaru wasn't sure how to respond to something so blunt and-

Something in the back of his mind clicked. The woman was speaking Japanese... Why? What connection would this world have with his? Was he really in another world? His head hurt from all the questions and he felt exhaustion catch up to him.

He picked up his bag and dusted himself off. Whatever sludge he just got dumped on himself, he will have to just live with. For now, he should find a place to re-

"Hey, you!" Subaru looked behind him to spot a young man with blueish hair and plain clothes. "Hand yer valuables!" Subaru gave him a smile. "E-excuse me?"

"Yer valuables! Hand 'em!" There was a noise from behind Subaru, his head quickly turning to spot two more guys, one extremely short and the other barrel-chested, emerge from the other side of the alley. No bolting here.

"S-sure! What do you want!" He opened his bag, allowing the books to tumble on the floor, mostly books and old document translations. 

The burglar came up to his stuff and began sorting through it. "What the hell is this trash?! Who the hell needs books!?" He stood up and kicked the documents to the side, damaging them further. Subaru flinched. "Well, you look like a fancy cunt!" The bandit walked up to the student, licking his lips. "How 'bout we drag ye off and yer daddy pays us for ye!" The blue-hair took out a pair of knives. "Yer coming with u-" 

Subaru didn't even understand where the sudden burst came from, but it was exhilarating. For just a few seconds, the fear melted away, which was enough for him to headbutt the knife-wielder. The bandit fell backwards, opening the way out of the alleyway. 

The boy was about to bolt, but his very collar seemed to stop him, a hand grabbing his shirt. 

"Where ye going?" said a low threatening voice, as Subaru looked up at the figure behind him. Ah, he forgot about the other two. The tall purple-haired man suddenly grabbed him into a standing chokehold.

"Nothin' personal, jus' need another day's bread." He pronounced in a terrifyingly calm tone. Subaru kicked and struggled, but the grasp only got stronger.

"Fucken' bastard!" As Subaru's vision tunnelled, he saw the blue-hair get up with his knives. "I'll kill him!"

"Chin, stop, you fool! Sto-"

"SHUDDUP TON!"

  
  
Subaru felt a great pain explode in his abdomen and the chokehold release on his neck. Life slowly started draining away from him...

The darkness was like the waves, covering him, then subsiding.

"What have you do-!"

...

"Headbutted m-!"

...

"The guards are co-!"

...

...

The darkness seeped in more and more. Subaru couldn't feel much anymore, the numbness reaching up to take him away. A sheer, blind terror of his incoming doom overpowered him, yet his last thoughts were of home, and the people he loved so dearly.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subaru gasped and looked around mindlessly. The same street, the same guards... 

He dropped to his knees and vomited.


	2. The Confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a couple of people actually got interested in the concept so I hammered out another chapter. I am a complete amateur writer, so if any of you have suggestions or ideas to how I can improve my writing style, please comment down below. Thanks a lot.

A shiver ran down Subaru's back as he heaved again, but was able to keep the contents of his stomach inside himself. He shakily lifted his hand and pinched the skin under his shirt.

Nothing.

No scarring, no blood, not even a sign of a laceration.

Yet what just happened... It was too real... it couldn't have been...

His conscious mind struggled and tore at the seams, trying to find a logical explanation to an illogical problem, meanwhile his subconscious seemed to have devolved to its very prime instincts as he physically gagged, wheezed and shivered on his knees, fighting back a death that already happened. He focused on the feeling of his lungs filling and emptying, his eyes blinking, his heart-rate. That which was supposed to be gone was back in its place.

He closed his eyes, sinking into peaceful darkness, blocking out any possible noises with his own thoughts.

_one..._

_two...._

_three....._

_four......._

The hammering of his pulse in his eardrums slowed to an uncomfortable, heavy pound, his lungs slowly started expanding out, giving him more oxygen to work with. The panic, slowly but surely, began to subside.

He opened his eyes again and lifted his gaze. A small crowd has already formed around him, from worried Good Samaritans to bored youths.

_"What's up with HIM?"_

_"The guy drunk or somethin'?"_

_"Is he alright? Maybe we should call the guard?"_

_"If he passes out, I take anything in his pockets."_

He quickly pushed himself up, the world swinging on its axis as he almost fell again, and scooped up his school bag. He looked around for an opening in the crowd and stumbled blindly in-between a group of rough-looking humans and someone who looked like a Victorian maid.

"Sorry, excuse me..." He murmured as he tried to dissipate into the crowd, accidentally pushing some of the mid-day shoppers out of his way. For all his regained composure, he still felt like someone hit him over the head with a sledgehammer, the sunlight being too bright, the noises too loud, the smells too fragrant.

Subaru's legs failed underneath him, causing him to hug the wall and start wheezing again, the school bag falling out of his hands. He almost crawled into the next alley, leaving the bag behind on the street.

"Shit..." He slid down the wall into a sitting position, his cheek up against the granite slabs, the cold coming off of the stone wall calming his headache slightly. 

He still had no answers to any of what just happened, not only to his situation but to why wasn't he DEAD. He checked his stomach again and came up with the same unbroken skin. "Goddamnit." Strangely enough, there was a disappointment. In that one second of his non-existence, he felt calmer than he ever did and being dragged back felt... it felt terrifying. Subaru shook his head and slowly lifted himself up, shaking off the dust. 

"Get yourself together Natsuki, not the time for existential crises." He felt the hammering of his heart finally subside and his breath return slowly to its original calm state. "Now..." He needed to think of the next steps. He was in a foreign land, unable to read or write, penniless and right now his bag was being stolen... WAIT HIS BAG WAS-

Subaru ran out of the alley only to notice a black-and-red streak disappearing into the crowds carrying his book bag away into the unknown.

"Hey! You thief!" He started into a sprint. "Give that back! THIEF!" Even with his desperate shouting no one seemed to neither care nor stop the book bandit who was rapidly extending the distance between them and their pursuer. Even as Subaru put every ounce of strength into his run, pushing apart several confused workers and jumping carts, the streak seemed to get farther and farther away.

However, his luck seemed to turn as the streak whizzed into the space between what looked like a fresh produce shop and an abandoned building. Subaru dove after it, nearly grazing the apple-seller standing outside.

Dead end. The figure of the thief froze and turned around at the sounds of Subaru stomping into the passage.

"Dead *huff* end! Now fork it over!" He only then noticed that the thief was... a child?

The blonde kid looked at him like a rat in a trap, her eyes darting left and right as she scanned any paths to escape. The student took a couple of careful steps towards her. 

"*huff* Just give me back my bag, and we can leave each other alone, how about it? Hm?" He put on a low, diplomatic voice, trying not to scare the urchin into any more running... or anything more aggressive, considering the dagger strapped to her belt.

The kid's grasp tightened on the bag. "Yeah right!" She backed away a few steps. "And what will I eat this evening, huh?" 

Subaru froze up, unsure of how to answer such a basic question. "T-then... What about I help you o-"

"There you are! Return my insignia!" An icicle sliced through the air, right past his right ear, hitting the ground next to the kid's foot, the tense situation collapsing instantly. The urchin's eyes widened as she threw the bag at Subaru, freeing her hands to climb, and turned on her heel. What happened next, Subaru was unsure of how to explain.

The thief, now surrounded by a greenish aura, the wind suddenly rising up around her, simply ran ("RAN!!!") up a wall of one of the houses, as if propelled by some invisible force and disappeared behind the rooftops, leaving Natsuki at an amazed, yet furious, stand-still. If he had not already experienced an un-death and jumped realities, this would be the strangest thing he'd ever witnessed.

The young man stood, mouth agape, book bag in hand as he watched the kid disappear behind another street.

"Oh, well, I guess that is to be expected..." He really was too blindsided by reality at this point to not even question the magic or illusion or drug-fuelled fever dream he experienced right in front of him. 

"Oh no!" He looked back at the new arrival. A young woman in white and purple robes stood before him, hopelessly staring off in the direction of the disappeared mouse-sized mugger. "My insignia!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a knock at the door, pulling the revolutionary out of his memories. In the end, it's all pure nostalgia, he should keep his eyes on the prize. He slid the unfinished draft of the document to the side.

"Come in." He pronounced in a clear voice, automatically jumping to the usual speech style he developed during the Revolt instead of his old mumbling. The door creaked open and a young Guard marched in, his motions mechanical and stiff.

"P-permission to-" 

"Permission granted soldier, at ease." The young officer relaxed a bit. "So, what news from beyond the walls?"

"Hussar Astreus wanted to notify you that Jukuulius did decide to disclose the locations of the 'mark'..." The soldier fell silent, and Subaru felt a migraine coming on.

"I sense a 'however', Infantryman..?" He left a questioning pause.

"Infantryman Cain, sir. A-and yes, there is a 'however'. He set some demands, though Hussar Astreus was not at the liberty to disclose them to me, he requested to meet you sometime today." The soldier seemed to stiffen with every word, it must be nerve-wracking to be the bearer of bad news. Subaru felt a little sympathy and withheld his disappointment.

"Anything else, Infantryman Cain?"

"Y-yes, actually... There has been an incident with a publication..." He passed a black-and-white print to Subaru, a newspaper printed on the cheapest paper one could find. "The publishers were attacked by several drunk Guardsmen yesterday and caused a huge commotion." 

Subaru looked at the paper. Even now, he still couldn't get used to the Lugnican script, no matter the time he spent on books and literature, he still read slowly. Though here, that wouldn't be required. A huge menacing eye stared back at him from the front page. I took him a second to recognise himself, or at least the cartoony madman that was intended to represent him, with long black hair which he was pulling out, huge shadowy eyes and lines of paper unfurling from his mouth covered in words like 'Freedom, Revenge, Rights, the Sword, Workers' and other terms he tended to use in his speeches, with the caption, 'Bug-Eye Brutally Buzzes at the Big Bads'. The usual pro-monarchist swill.

He wasn't devoid of humour, but 'Bug-Eye' just felt like a petty nickname. "So, several soldiers attacked a publication. Anything out of the usual?" 

The Infantryman huffed. He seemed to be settling into the much more relaxed style of discussion Subaru had, unlike some of his officers. "Not really, no. The two got punished as per usual, the publication got shut down, but the picture moulds we found for this publication is the most important." He gave Subaru a meaningful gaze. "Sir, they were foreign. They were still in shipping containers when we arrived on the scene."

Subaru nodded, he should have expected this. Slowly but surely he was losing the technological edge, even in such basic things as printing book and newspapers. He dreaded the thought of the musket escaping into foreign lands, but it was inevitable. No one can completely stop an idea if it's in wide use. "Well, if you find any more, burn 'em." He placed down the newspaper and stood up. "Dismissed, Infantryman."

The soldier saluted, still slightly nervously, "Thank you, sir." and departed.

Subaru straightened his jacket and looked at the caricature on the newspaper before chuckling softly. "Bug-Eye... my eyes aren't _that_ big." He reassured himself jokingly, before forcing his facial expression back into its usual state of menacing neutrality.

There was, yet again, more work to be done. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now, I decided to format the story as a jump between Revolutionary Subaru and Newbie Subaru, each or every other chapter, to kind of let the two run in parallel. If it's confusing, then I'll just stick to dividing them by chapter.


	3. The Streets of the Capital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't written as quickly, but that's mostly because the first two chapters were written purely on the drive of inspiration, while here I tried to put in a tad more thought. Also, school restarted, so that's even less time to write ;-;
> 
> Otherwise, as usual, please criticize me in the comments, I'd really want to improve. Thanks.

Natsuki walked down the steps of the royal palace in which the National Convention put up its headquarters. It was a good position, well-defended due to its location atop the hill, and quite symbolic. It was as if the castle-like structure overlooked the whole city, its myriad of blown-out windows looking like spider's eyes, the huge structure sitting atop the cobweb of streets and passages, sensing every vibration in its strings.

Some of the more extreme factions wanted to utterly demolish it, as a symbol of the Old Regime and of cowering under the promise of annihilation by the Dragon, but the majority thankfully held that off. Some opportunities, even if created despite you at first, must be seized, thought Subaru as he finally reached the beginning of the city streets.

The Revolt majorly changed the Capital. Huge red banners covered some of the damaged building, like blood-red waterfalls, the scars of the Rose March still visible on the city's blown up bridges and exploded houses. The streets were much greyer from the soot from the several dozen fires around the city, and while they burnt out days ago, no one was bothered with cleaning the streets, it was still much too early, the commoner too drunk on the sudden freedom given to him to come back to rebuild. Many of the more important and major streets had their sides demolished to give way for more carriage traffic, houses that were inhabited by families for centuries being levelled into the ground. Bit by bit, the city went from Lugnican to Revolutionary in and of itself, even if it was only beginning to show.

Natsuki's boots clicked down the paved streets, as he looked at the damaged buildings and the few civilians that tread the streets in the late evening. It was risky to go outside during such hours if you were not armed, but such things were normal during the social upheaval, Natsuki reassured himself. This isn't going to be like that forever... he hoped.

His thoughts were disturbed by a sudden shrill shriek piercing the air, and as he stopped he noticed someone tumble out of a doorway of an abandoned building, his hand reflexively readying to cast Shamak and while his other tightened its grasp on the dagger under his jacket, his legs turning into springs, ready to turn around and run. He cursed himself, should've taken a couple of Guards along.

"You damn whore!" A man, dressed in what may have been expensive clothing months ago, followed out of the doorway and grabbed the smaller figure by the hair. "Who gave you the right to speak!?" He smashed his fist into the near-unconscious woman's head, as she blubbered something incoherently.

"Oh." Natsuki relaxed, his hand slipping off the blade and taking out the musket, his second hand pulling out the gunpowder pouch.

The man continued to roar at the collapsed figure under him. "What did you say, huh? What did you say to me?!"

"I-I just told Medina the-tha-"

The man smashed his fist into the figure's face again, a low crack coming out from what was probably her nose. "AND WHAT IF MEDINA CALLED THE GUARD HUH? DID YOU NOT THINK ABOUT IT, YOU DUMB WHORE! WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO-"

"Shamak." Came out a calm proclamation and the man's world suddenly became completely dark and silent. He then felt something cold and metallic touch his neck. The darkness collapsed again, the night's noises flooding back in.

"Upon the authority of the National Convention and as the Representative of the Revolutionary Guard I arrest you on suspicions of counter-revolutionary actions." Subaru proclaimed with a practised clarity in his voice, pushing the muzzle further into the scruff of the man's neck to prove his qualifications. "Please proceed with me to the guard post." 

The man slowly raised his hands and stood up from the woman whom he just pummeled. 

"You too." Subaru directed the beaten woman.

"W-what?" She gave him a disbelieving look.

"We'll need your statement on what happened," Natsuki noted.

There was a second of silence as if the woman was deciding whether or not she could even trust Natsuki, but with a huff, she lifted herself. "Then... let us go." She pronounced with a heavy heart. 

Natsuki shrugged, such calmness was unusual from arrestees but not unwelcome, and poked the man with the muzzle, "You heard her. Let's go."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The journey through the capital to the nearest Guard post wasn't long, but Natsuki was sure if this happened in the outskirts of the city, he'd be surprised if they didn't find a guard post within five minutes even there. The journey, strangely enough, was also rowdier than usual as he passed a Guard regiment completely drunk in front of a looted wine shop, and while he had a huge pull to excise his privileges as their commander, the man in front of him looked like he would take any opportunity to disappear in the cityscape, and from the look on the woman's face, it seemed she would not have the heart to shoot if he let her hold the musket.

Mid-way, the man decided to speak up, "You don't even know the people I know, pal. You just better let me go so your bosses don't shove a fist up your ass for arresting someone like me."

"Mmmmm? And who would that be?" Subaru questioned with an entertained tone, it must be that the darkness of evening obscured his face too well.

"I am the personal assistant for Convention representative Otto Suwen!" The man pronounced victoriously and paused as if waiting for the gun barrel to be removed from his back and an apology.

The silence persisted, Subaru wanted to keep tensions high. "Y'know what? I think I'll take my chances!" He snorted.

The man's shoulders stiffened. "Who do you think you are!?" He hissed. "If they hear about your conduct, I'll have your neck in the Razor faster than you can apologi-" 

**UMPH**

Subaru slugged the guy in the back of the head with his musket and quickly put the barrel back up to his back. "Well, we can add misuse of status-granted privileges to your list. Enjoy the headache while your head's still on your shoulders." The man growled but kept quiet.

They finally arrived at one of the few whole buildings in this quarter of the capital, a storage facility, most of the transport carriages still standing in the courtyard. The writing over the door read "Liberty and Roses", to which Subaru chuckled to himself. Clearly, the Guard lacked subtlety in political messages. Then again, what can one expect from an army?

He pushed the assistant through the entrance, the beaten woman following closely behind him, to be greeted by several very surprised Infantrymen sitting at a table and playing cards. Upon recognising him, they quickly straightened out, stood up and saluted him, "Sir!"

"At ease, at ease, just take this bastard and get the story out of him, then ask her side. I'll send my account by courier, I have places to be." He put down the musket hammer with a click and put it back into his jacket. "Until my say-so, this guy stays behind bars."

"And the woman?" One of the guards grabbed onto the arrestee, the man recognizing Natsuki in the bright light of the Guard post, his jaw dropping as he was starting to mouth apologies.

"Hm." He looked at the beaten woman and then shrugged. "Follow the protocol. I'm off."

He turned to leave but stopped right in front of the exit. The unmistakable sound of rain tore through the still silence of the building, the weather itself seeming to have turned against the revolutionary.

Subaru sighed and leaned against the wall, watching the raindrop hit the rocks of the loading area courtyard. "Just my luck." He grumbled and fished inside his jacket, taking a small box of powder, quickly applying it to his gums, feeling the mana spike. Shamak, even while utterly basic, abused his gate to no end, the mana not restoring itself after use, making him one of the few people in Lugnica, if not the world, having to rely on the Bocco fruit extract powder. In many ways, it reminded him of how 19th-century doctors prescribed cocaine, but for now, Natsuki held onto the hope that he wasn't addicted.

He chuckled. The rain wasn't the worst that could have happened, his luck tended to be much worse before. Subaru's mind, lulled by the rhythmic beat of the raindrops, slowly began wondering again, beyond the Rose March, beyond the Revolt, beyond the candidates, beyo-

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The student listened to Satella's, if that was her real name, feeble attempts to calm the crying child. "Miss, with all due respect, I don't think this is working." 

Satella gave him a despairing look as the little girl continued to bawl endlessly. "Subaru, we can't just leave a child." 

"Well, we ARE losing the thief with every passing second, but no, a child in the middle of a busy square is clearly the more important task," Subaru responded cynically. 

Satella gave him a heavily disguised look of disgust, but whatever was brewing in her mind, she decided to keep to herself and she instead redoubled the efforts of trying to coax the child into talking, though that clearly was backfiring as the wailing turned into a full-on howl.

Subaru rubbed his temples. While having access to a person of clear-cut authority (I mean, just look at the clothes) had a great number of potential benefits, the amount of effort required felt like a waste. He sighed and walked up to Satella.

"Move." He sat down cross-legged in front of the child and opened his book bag.

"So, little lady, have you ever heard of the Louvre Collection?" He took out a thick colourful tome.

The child looked at him with a surprised look, shaking her head, the crying seizing but sniffling still there.

"Well, little lady, the Louvre is a King's picture show, all of the colour and beauty in one place." He opened up the book to the paintings' section. "And I was a good enough friend with the late King for him to allow me to make some copies. Have a look." He turned the tome around for the girl to look at.

The child crept up to the book and picked it up, first looking with confusion, then her eyes beginning to dazzle. She flipped through one page, then another, then another, clearly ignoring the unfamiliar text, instead focusing on the miriad of multi-coloured pictures. "Wow! How did you get all this colour on the pages!" The tears seemed to have disappeared as quickly as they have arrived. "Mister! Is this a metia!?"

"Uh... yeah... sure, it is... you got me." Subaru tried his hardest to look knowledgable, but the facade was starting to fail. "Anyways, this beautiful lady will look at the pictures with you, I'll go look for your parents." The child seemed to have already lost herself in the illustrations of the works of Da Vinci and Caravaggio, or more specifically, the colourfulness of these pictures.

He stood up, only to be met by a doubtful look from Satella. "S-Subaru... I'm not su-"

"She's a _child_ , just point at the pictures, smile and nod at what she says. It's not that difficult." He said in a tired tone. "I'm not even going to go away anyways."

"Wait, then how are you going to?" 

Natsuki took a few steps forward and took a deep breath.

**PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEE-PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**

The whistle that came out of his mouth was ear-splitting, Satella quickly covering the girl's ears, while the child herself didn't seem to notice too much, her amazed look still completely on the book.

The surrounding crowds have also gone silent, their questioning and annoyed gazes circling around Subaru like a pack of wolves.

"Has anyone! LOST! A CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILD!?" Subaru shouted out as hard as he could, his vocal cords straining to rise to their maximum volume.

The passers-by exchanged glances and murmurs, looking around for someone to step forward, but aside from the people outside the small crowd that gathered around Subaru, no one seemed to give out a sound.

Natsuki grumbled as his confidence in the plan began to deflate. "Uh... P-pistachio hair? Pink dress? Blue eyes? Anyone?!" As his confidence faltered, so did the size of the crowd.

_"Whoever let HIM out of his madhouse?"_   
_"They should really outlaw drinking for men already."_   
_"Now, if you don't listen to what I tell you, you'll grow up just like that man."_

"Shit shit shit." He whispered to himself, squeezing his fists tight and hopelessly darting his eyes around the crowd, trying to find the unlucky parent. "Shit, come on. This gotta work..."

"Plum!"

The girl dropped the book and stood up, looking into the crowd. "Mum!?"

"Plum!" 

"Mummy!" The girl rushed into the crowd towards a dark-haired woman, hugging her waist.

Subaru sighed. "Well, that worked out rather well." He turned around to be met by a bizarre stare from Satella.

"What?" Subaru picked up the book bag and the museum guide he had with him, stuffing it back inside. "Did I do something wrong?" He straightened out and put his hands in his pockets, waiting for Satella to get up.

  
"No, it's just..." Satella stood up and brushed the dust off of her garb, still observing Subaru as if he was a rare and exotic breed of animal. "Why would you just shout into a crowd? Were you... not nervous?" 

Subaru gave her a confused look. "About what? Honestly, my main worry was that they'd stop paying attention and dissipate. I was pretty sure that if I started a commotion, the parent would check what was going on, and if maybe their missing child was the source of the crowd."

He shrugged. "And I got it right. The girl is back with her mother." 

Satella frowned thoughtfully. "Well... I guess I still have something to learn." She gave a small smile.

"Uh... sure? Otherwise, you're still missing your insignia, we should get back on track." Subaru wasn't very charmed, getting back to his original point. "You said it's important yourself, so come on." He took off in the same general direction as the thief, or at least the best approximation he had.

"R-right." Satella, responded bashfully, following Subaru's lead.


	4. The Waste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Saturday nights, the promised land of free time. Have a good read, and as always, I am open to criticism in the comments. Thanks :DDDDDDDDDDDD

The Capital's outskirts were not as strange to Natsuki as the centre was, mostly because he saw such things in documentaries about destroyed African countries. The whole place smelled of shit; it was in the streets with the fumes of the open sewers, inside the buildings with the chamber-pots of those who could afford them, and sometimes on the torn rags of those who wandered in-between the clay-and-mud huts. The only respite was that the sun has set, and most of the disgusting scenery was lost in the dark.

Subaru gagged. Even though his first loop also brought him to the outskirts, it seemed he didn't travel very far into them. "How are people allowed to live like this?" 

"Hm?" Satella was barely keeping up with his brisk walk. "Pardon me?"

"I said, how are people allowed to live like this?" Subaru said, feeling a slight rage bubble up the walls of his throat. "Why is nothing done? This feels more like a humanitarian crisis than an impoverished part of the city."

"Ahh..." Satella went silent, an awkwardness crawling into the conversation. 

'"Satella?" Subaru felt like he was talking to a wall. He noted that. Why would a noble not have something to say in such a world? Even a person who was uncomfortable with the topic wouldn't stay silent for so long.

"I-I'm not sure..." She was clearly nervous. "It's terrible, I know, that's why I'm thinking of ways to fix it."

"Hm, thinking. Right..." Subaru stayed quiet. "So you're saying you have a way of fixing this?"

"N-no, well, n-not yet. Not until I get my insignia back." Satella began sounding uneasy, Subaru's aggressive questioning making her uncomfortable.

On the other hand, Subaru gave an acknowledging mumble, his mind beating with a burning question.

_IN WHAT MODERN WORLD DOES THE BETTERMENT OF THOUSANDS RELY ON A PIECE OF JEWELRY..._

He stopped abruptly, Satella bumping into his back, Subaru ignoring the impact almost completely. "We're getting nowhere, and we've been walking for an hour or so. We'll need more guidance. Let's split and try to ask some of the locals." It was strange to him how he said 'locals,' they haven't left the city, yet it was as if they were in a totally different country.

Satella stayed quietly behind him. Subaru turned around, "So? Anything? You in on the plan or..?" 

"Oh... I..." Subaru felt something, a low chill run down his spine. How could he have not noticed? Simply from how she talked, she clearly wasn't used to having her opinion asked, especially on the further plan of action. His mind recalibrated his image of her. No, this wasn't a high-ranking noble, rather a puppet. Someone much bigger was sitting in the puppeteer's seat, and he just walked in on something that is not his.

"I don't think that this is very safe," Satella mumbled.

"Just in our first meeting, you were firing icicles the size of crossbow bolts. I don't see how-" 

"It's past daylight," Satella said as if that explained something to Subaru.

"Yes, I seem to see that," Subaru replied with a dry yet humorous tone. "Still, that doesn't really change the situation much."

"My spirit won't come out; there's no mana without sunlight," Satella explained slightly louder, clearly having enough of Subaru's questioning. "So **I** think that we should stay together but do the same thing as you proposed!" She raised her voice but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. 

Subaru chuckled. "Okay then, should've just said it as is. Let's stick together, though if you don't mind, I'll ask the questions first." 

"S-sure." Satella nodded, smiling about something. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 'questioning' didn't go well. Their first victim was a homeless man, some drunk sitting on the windowsill of a tavern, the torn clothing on him looking as if it was hardening from all the grime on it.

Subaru steeled his nerves. As much as he thought his idea was going to work, something was gnawing at the back of his mind. "Hey, excuse me."

The drunk turned his head and stared at the duo with undividable attention, only possible for someone who has downed what smelt like a distillery. "Wh-wh-wh-"

The drunk squinted, and his face turned into a mask of disgust. "What the-th-the fu- are ye's doing 'ere!? GO BACK TO YE CASTLES, YOU RICH CUNTS! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" He jumped off of the windowsill, planting face-first into the ground but beginning to get up, a mad fire lighting up in his gaze.

Satella tapped Subaru's shoulder. "I think that maybe-"

"Yep! Got it!" Both of them turned around in unison and bolted, the screams of the alcoholic echoing after them as they disappeared into the back-alleys.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their next attempt was a rough-looking woman leaning on one of the walls of what looked like a church. Subaru gulped. While the drunk looked a bit menacing, this one seemed to be more like a tank than a human being.

"Excuse me." Subaru's pull for attention seemed to have set her off, a blade appearing in her hand as soon as Subaru pronounced the first syllable.

"Well, lookie! We've got ourselves a squealer and a well-dressed one at that! What's in yer bag, sweetheart!?" Subaru's eyes went wide as he began to slowly back away. 

"I... Uh..." His stammering was cut short by a blade sailing through the air, slicing his cheek. "Run!" 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two stopped to catch their breaths next to a lit-up window, giving just enough light for them both to see each others' outlines.

"Subaru _*huff*_ , I don't _*huff*_ think your plan _*huff*_ is working." Satella pronounced breathlessly.

" _*huff*_ Miss Satela, _*huff*_ if a plan _*huff*_ doesn't work _*huff*_ at first _*huff*_ it just means that you _*huff*_ taken the wrong approach," Subaru replied, before straightening out. "Our last encounter actually _*huff*_ explained something quite self-evident, now that I _*huff*_ think about it."

Satella also straightened out, her breath recovering quicker than Subaru's. "A-and what would that be?" 

"We're too well-dressed." pronounced Subaru self-assuredly while unbuttoning his school blazer and handing it to Satella. "To them, we look as either money-bags or over-privileged royals, but no worries, I have just the remedy for that. Could you please hold this?" He passed her the school bag as well, Satella receiving his possessions with a confused expression.

"And now-" Subaru looked around and walked up to one of the murky puddles covering the mud roads of the outskirts. "-I transform..." He took a deep breath, and to the background noise of Satella's protests, threw himself into the puddle.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind blew unrelentingly, and Subaru sneezed. "Ghhhhaaaahhh CHOO!" A shiver went down his spine, as even his blazer couldn't really protect him from the wet pants and shirt clinging to him like frost.

"Subaru, while I appreciate your efforts, maybe this is-"

"I said, I'm fine! And besides, now that we've got the information needed, we might as well get on with it!" He said in a nasal voice. Clearly, ripping his trouser-legs and cuffs was a bit overboard, but hey, at least that got him the information he needed. The guy at the tavern didn't even question why he was wet; the ruined appearance was enough. The good thing was he also remembered how the thief looked like; otherwise, they'd really be in trouble.

The royal and the student stopped in front of the large yet clearly abandoned tavern, yet another one.

"So, this is the hiding spot of the 'Felt' girl, if the guy wasn't tricking me." Subaru pronounced with a little bit of pride. "Let's hope that we are not too late to intercept her." He continued optimistically. 

He took a step forward, only to feel a pull on his blazer sleeve. He turned around to be met by Satella's worried gaze. "Subaru... I'm not sure about this place..." 

"Well then, I'll check it out first, but quietly." He smiled, "Don't be worried; what's the worst that could happen?"

Satella nodded, though her gaze still seemed to scan the building with distrust.

Subaru slowly began creeping towards the building entrance, his steps crunching the gravel. As he got closer to the door, Satella's words rang out in his head. The building was tranquil, not even a creak. Did someone tip the thief off? Did they already leave?

"Only way to find out..." He whispered to himself as he pushed the door with a heavy creak, the moonlight spilling over the room.

Step...

Another...

He felt something as if he stepped into something, something sticky.

Subaru squinted into the darkness. 

Another step...

A strong smell of iron hit him, his eyes finally focusing to see a head full of blonde hair in a pool of blood. 

A scream began to battle its way up from his lungs to his mouth as he stumbled back and tried to scramble back to the exit, away from the blood, away from the building, the outskirts, this world. Instead, his back met something. 

He slowly craned his neck.

The moment was short. He saw a pair of purple eyes burn within the darkness of the room, perfectly contrasting the luminescence of the moon. 

Then he felt his torso disconnect from his legs. 

"gaaaaaaa **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH**!"

His vision blurred as he screamed and screamed and screamed, his life literally draining from him.

The doors slammed. "Suba-!" There was a low whistle as if someone swung a stick and another impact on the floor. Subaru could see, yet the pain burnt like a blinding light.

In his last seconds of consciousness, he saw something roll into his vision. Satella stared back at him, empty gaze and... no neck. Her serene gaze pierced Subaru, and he gave out one last silent scream as the darkness consumed him.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world swung back into view, and Subaru sunk to his knees. This time he was ready for nausea; it was something else that hit him. The terror, the helplessness, but also a rage...

Subaru ground his teeth. "Goddamn wasted effort..."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The revolutionary opened his eyes and shivered slightly as the breeze blew in his face. The rain has finally calmed; only the dripping of water from the gutter pipe and the usual howl of the night wind disturbed the dark city streets' serene silence. He stood up from his leaning position and walked out into the streets, rechecking his weapons as he went. Sometimes it felt like even with weapons, he wasn't safe, as if those same eyes were staring in the back of his head, even as one of the most powerful men in this city, nay, this world. But those eyes have burnt something into him, and he had to manage it one way or another.

His hands itched to take out the Bocco powder again, but he only balled them into fists. There'd be time for this _after_ the meeting.

The path from this specific Guard post wasn't long from the meeting place. Left-Right-Two block forward- Another Left- Follow the street signs to the tavern but turn left- another left. His legs carried him automatically as he thought over the agenda of today's meeting again. In some ways, it reminded him of his student council. He laughed to himself. A student council running a country, this is exactly what the meetings felt like.

He took the stairs down into the basement and knocked on the door. The Infantryman opened it, looked him over, saluted and opened the door completely.

"They're waiting, sir."

"So they are."

He straightened his jacket, checked that his flower was pinned well and nodded to the Infantryman, who opened the second door and let the revolutionary inside.

The room had a cozy feeling, the cushioned arm-chairs, the roaring fireplace, the only thing ruining the atmosphere being the cold stares.

"You are late." Reminded a familiar voice.

"Well, let's just say I got caught up in the humdrum of the calm and careless life." He responded sarcastically and then sat down in the last free seat and nodded. "So, let the meeting begin."


	5. The Explosion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the restart of the school season and a huge mound of mock exams this week, I barely had any time to write, so this chapter comes quite late -_-  
> Sorry dudes.

"About damn time," pronounced Heinkel, pouring out the contents of his glass into the fireplace, the flames momentarily turning purple from contact with whatever neurotoxin the Hussar was drinking this week. "Unlike you pencil-pushers, I've got to drill the Guard in the morning, so let's get this over with."

An annoyed snicker came from the seat opposite Subaru's, "If anyone's a pencil-pusher, that's ye, with all yer equipment requests every time we meet." Chin responded in a mocking tone. "Maybe ye should just retire already, old man. Let the real revolutionaries take the stage." The ex-bandit continued as he began flipping the letter opener in-between his fingers.

Heinkel sank into his seat with a grunt, "Keep talking militia-boy, you may outnumber us 15 to 1, but each of my men can take 20 of yours." The red-haired Hussar sneered, "But actually, that would be too low of me. After all, I don't slaughter civilians." 

Chin gritted his teeth, "Whatever you say, turn-coat bitch."

"That being from an ex-royal sell-out?"

"I don't need a month to make a good soldier."

"At least I don't resort to banditry like a lowly criminal."

"Yet I'm not the failure of my blood-line."

There was a click of the hammer and a 'shing' of an unsheathed bayonet.

In a space of seconds, both men were at each other's throats, Heinkel staring down the militia-man as the bayonet point on his throat drew a drop of blood, while Chin growled at the muzzle put up to his head.

"Are you both done or should I wait for you to tear each other's throats out before the President of the National Convention and I can speak in peace?" Otto, who for now has stuck to a neutral silence in his armchair, sighed. The two darted their eyes to the side, throwing a look at Subaru, before slowly lowering their weapons, their looks still unblinkingly pinned on each other. Heinkel's musket hammer came back down with a hollow click, and Chin's bayonet returned to his pocket. The former dropped into his seat, the latter slipped into his armchair, keeping his eyes trailed on the muskets.

  
"Thank you, Otto." Subaru cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, before we begin going through the agenda, I would like to ask for preliminary reports."

"I'll go first." Otto shook off the dust on his dark green overcoat and stood from his seat, looking expectantly at Subaru, who nodded in return.

"Hlockard Transportation has agreed to sell us their construction services, though they want more of the royal gold."

Subaru hummed approvingly. "How much?"

"Approximately 2% more of the confiscated goods."

Subaru felt an exhausted sigh begin to creep into his breath but purged the emotion quickly. "Tell them that 1.5% is already a sizeable cut, haggle at half a per cent at maximum."

"Hm... I may have a knack for such thing, but Natsuki, with all due respect, they may reject the offer."

"We're out of a civil war, Otto. A construction company's dream, all the demand they can ever get, if they don't want it, find someone else."

Otto nodded, noting the words down. "We'll try our best, I suppose." He pronounced unenthusiastically, low concern rising in his voice.

"Is that all?" 

"Yep." Otto nodded, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other as he began to note down something in his notebook, his eyes darting from calculation to calculation, his lips silently moving as if he was reading out figures to himself.

Subaru turned his gaze to Heinkel. "And what of the professional military, hm?"

Heinkel grunted as he stood up, the swords and muskets on his belt giving out a metallic thud. "I picked out some of the better militia-men to be put under my training-" There was an annoyed but quiet 'tsk' audible from Chin's seat, one which Heinkel promptly ignored. "For now, all is proceeding as planned, I was able to raise two battalions with help from the Guard and a third should be on the way."

"Any news on military production?"

Heinkel looked to the side and up as if counting. "I'd say we produce around a cannon a day, and about thirty rifles a day, though we're on the verge of implementing... pardon me, what was it again?"

Subaru sighed, "It's a reverberatory furnace, Heinkel."

"Sure." The Hussar said without much interest. "Though if you'll want anything more detailed, Otto'll send you the reports."

Subaru turned to Otto, "Otto?"

"Should be on your table by the time you come back." The merchant pronounced without lifting his face from the calculations.

Subaru gave a satisfied smile, the first time over the meeting. "Perfect. Well, anything else?"

Heinkel tightened his fists as if about to pull out a very painful splinter. "We-"

"-REqUiEr mORe SuPPlIES." mocked Chin from his corner, dropping his voice to a strained monotony.

Heinkel gave out a low growl and went silent.

Subaru sighed, "Heinkel, I suppose I don't need to remind you that-"

Heinkel interrupted, "With all due respect, we NEED more drilled army recruits. There may be a shortage, but the use of such-"

Chin also interrupted with a whimsical tone, "Yeah, well, my forces do tend to get the most results, Heeeeiiiiiinkeeeeeeeeelll," He chuckled, "Maybe we should-"

"Rachins Hoffman," Subaru's voice seemed to have pushed the room into permafrost, his fingers intertwining and elbows stabilizing on the armrests, "I believe that we are here to discuss official business, not trying to settle personal scores. We already discussed the advantages AND disadvantages of a professional army before, have we not?"

Chin stayed silent and sunk into his armchair, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden push-back he was receiving.

"And while your inflammatory rhetoric is QUIET helpful towards progressing the meeting, I would ask you to mention your grievances when I ask you of them." Subaru took a short pause, readjusting his exterior back to his meeting style, his hands relaxing, his tone warming up to its usual business-minded straightforwardness. "Otherwise, Heinkel, we have already reached a point where the army receives twice the infantry equipment that the usual militias do, so my only possible suggestion, for now, is to wait for further progress in production and to tighten your belt when it comes to equipment usage."

Heinkel nodded grimly, his fist relaxing, but his facial expression darkening.

"Anything else?"

"No..." The Hussar sat down again, his gaze being indiscernible in the shadows created by his facial features.

"And finally," Subaru's eyes finally fell on the white-haired militia-man. "Chin, anything?"

Chin slipped out of his seat, standing up with his usual crooked posture. "Nothing to report," He mumbled in a bored manner, "the guys near the southern border are still running the usual interception on the Royal Underground supply routes. As usual, they tend to come from over the border."

The ex-bandit scratched the back of his head, trying to remember something. "Out of the UNUSUAL, there was the Vollachian march attempt for Picoutatte but that got crushed and the Garkla revolutionaries finally did their thing and flipped the city to our side, though we're unsure if we should march in."

"No, hold. We can't afford the war right now." Subaru pronounced with little to no thought, the response coming in near-instantly.

Chin scrunched up his face, "Then what? We just let 'em get crushed? They'll get slaughtered, y'know."

Subaru sighed and rubbed his temple. Chin was right, but he was also impulsive, and unlike him, Subaru did not have that privilege anymore. "If we try to occupy Garkla, this will be considered an official act of war, a war we cannot yet sustain. Furthermore, we still have no diplomatic reason for it-"

Chin gnashed his teeth. "I suppose leaving behind the most loyal has become republican policy by this point."

Subaru sighed. "We've been over this. Maintain your positions. Vollachians and Kararagi only need an excuse. If we get our Casus Belli on the Vollachians, the Kararagi won't be able to commit their forces due to them being diplomatically unpermitted to do as such. Otherwise, we get rolled over by the coalition of the two." Subaru stood up, putting his hands behind his back and standing in front of the flame. "As we all know, gentlemen, we are up against the world now. Need I remind you that we have no allies? Need I remind you that we are the only ones who stand for freedom in this rotten world? For now, we are weak and for now, we are unready. But that shall not be forever."

Subaru turned to Chin, his eyes glinting with the reflection of the flame. "We shall have our day, Chin. That day is not today. Hold positions."

The ex-bandit, irritated but begrudgingly accepting, nodded and returned into his seat.

Subaru yet again turned back to the fire, watching the flame dance and convulse before him. "Our main topic on the agenda is the discussion of our further plans. As our nation stabilizes, we must have a set of ambitions, just like any other." He paused. "For now, I have pinpointed several severe issues faced by Lugnica at large. These are to be known as the Four Fallacies."

Subaru out up his fist and lifted his index finger. "Traitorous partisanship." The middle finger went up. "Racial tensions." The ring finger all raised. "Encroaching imperialists." Finally, the pinkie went up as well. "Unimplemented Innovations." He put his hand down and turned to face the three of the most influential men of Lugnica.

' _None of them are perfect. But all of them are what I need._ ' Subaru thought. ' _Otto may have been a simple merchant, but his organisational abilities would have gone to waste in trade. Heinkel may be a headache about his wife, but he is the only one who can reliably act as field marshal. And then there's Chin... the part that at some point will have to be cut off... Militias aren't a viable way of maintaining order, and while the National Convention may need the hot-heads, seating him among us, among the real rulers, the puppeteers of the Convention, is utter madness..._ '

Otto raised his hand, "By unimplemented innovations, you mean..?"

"A revolutionary overturn of everything, education, economics, trade, manufacture, weaponry, defence," Subaru answered, "It shall be policies that touch all sectors, from civilian to military." 

Otto put his hand down. Subaru looked over the other two. "Any more questions? No? Well, then we have to decide what we shall start with."

"All in favour o-"

A far-away sound of an explosion ripped through the air, like thunder hitting the ground, the basement shaking. All four co-rulers of Lugnica grabbed for their weapons, Heinkel flipping out both his muskets, Otto's hand straining at the ready to cast Dona, Chin slipping out his bayonets and Subaru cocking the hammer of his musket. Their gazes darted up, to the ground floor, before going to each other and nodding in near-unison.

Subaru sighed. "Meeting adjourned." His eyes gained a steely edge. "Let's go find whoever did that."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The student shakily grasped his book bag, blindly stumbling away from his arrival point. "A waste... such a damn waste..." 

Dying again was not as bad as the first time, he noted. No, it still hurt, it still dragged him into that eternal darkness, only to pull him out, like some unholy baptism, but the familiarity made it just that little bit more bearable. But he still didn't want to do it again, especially for such an unsatisfying result.

Subaru put his weight against the wall, looking around at the streets. He could clearly just turn around and go in any other direction. Search for some other source of income and influence, join a workforce or simply learn the language one way or another and translate all that he brought with him...

But that was unsatisfying. Many could settle for this. Many even would. But Natsuki Subaru could not just let an opportunity as such go. Not like this. 

"If there is no death, then there won't be defeat either," Subaru reassured himself through his teeth as another wave of nausea hit him. "I just gotta..." He dry-heaved. "use it smartly..." Slowly but surely, breath by breath, nausea subsided, being replaced with slight vertigo, Subaru pulling himself up and pushing off of the wall.

"Right, I don't need to find her this time." His mind returned to planning, the route becoming more clear. "First, the insignia, then I can return it. After that, maybe I can shake a favour or two out of her, maybe a payment." He smiled to himself. Thank god that whoever was her puppeteer wasn't accompanying her, otherwise, he'd have to go for another route. "And after that..."

His mind caught it in the midst of the crowd. A head of silver hair. He was about to break into a sprint to catch up and call out, but something caught in his brain. Is this really the best move? 

Natsuki blended into the crowd, slowly following the half-elf, his mind weighing the pros and cons. She may be naive and slow in general, but if he could get them to the thief's hideout before sundown, he'd have a much heftier arsenal on his hands. Magic or not, ice bullets are still bullets. He nodded to himself, setting his face into a friendly expression.

"Excuse me!" He called out, pushing through the crowd to the half-elf, "Sorry!" He finally reached her and tapped the mage's shoulder.

"Pardon me! Are you Satella?" He said in a friendly yet overly straightforward tone. "I was looking for y-"

His phrase caught in his throat. Satella expression bore a mix of rage and disgust, as she took a step away as if she just saw a five-foot leach.

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" She answered with earnest rage in her voice.

Subaru, blindsided by the sudden one-eighty could only mumble, "P-pardon?"

"Now, listen, I don't know who you think you are, but don't ever call me by the name of the Witch of Envy! What were you thinking?!" Satella questioned, the rage giving her the strength to push back at Subaru.

However, the student also regained his bearings, his voice filling up with ice. "Pardon me. I seem to have mistaken you for someone." He attempted to slip away from the conversation.

Satella only became even more disgusted. "How can someone mistake anyone for the Witch of Envy?! Who are you!?" 

Subaru's lips turned into a thin line as he surveyed his surroundings for a chance at escape. A crowd of rubbernecks has already formed around them, and their disposition was also worrying. Mumbles of agreement, tightened fists, annoyed gazes, he really needed to get out before-

A blonde-haired child darted past him, Subaru not instantly recognizing the- "Thief!" He called out as he attempted to grab the pickpocket. Instead, the child tapped against Satella and disappeared into the crowd. The half-elf quickly fished in her pockets.

"N-no way!" She pronounced in a stunned panic, her hand turning up with nothing. "M-my-" Her panic quickly turned to rage. "Are you an accomplice!? Did you just want to distract me?!"

Subaru decided to not answer, the situation deteriorating too quickly for him to salvage it. The near-accusation has already rung out through the crowd, as the surrounding passers-by gathered to look at the 'thief accomplice'.

"Ugh! It doesn't matter, the guards will deal with you if they find you again!" Turning on her heel, Satella sped after the thief, leaving an extremely annoyed Subaru in the centre of the crowd pondering a very simple but at the same time important question.

_'IF A PIECE OF JEWELRY IS A PROOF OF POWER IN THIS WORLD, HOW INCOMPETENT SHOULD ONE BE TO STORE IT IN THEIR POCKET?'_


	6. The Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, the mocks are done. Now I can get back to writing a bit more. :DDDDDDDDD
> 
> Otherwise, as always, I am quite happy for any feedback in the comments. Also, thanks to everyone of the 1k who read my attempt at a fanfic!

Subaru walked through the same shit-covered streets of the outskirts as the last loop, grinding his teeth slightly as he thought about what just happened. While he thought it possible that Satella, or whatever her actual name was, could have given him a fake name for security, a rational if not slightly paranoid response, the fact that she gave him some sort of obscenity as her name rubbed him all the wrong ways.

His mind quickly ran through all their conversations, finding a new perspective. He was being laughed at. Whatever goodwill he showed, he was being made a peasant fool by the half-elf. While his more rational side told him that such things shouldn't be unusual for such an unequal backwards world, he still couldn't stop the silent rage of humiliation seeping through his mind.

"Well, whatever. When I get that damn insignia back, I'll make sure to double whatever price they offer me." He told himself in a self-satisfied manner. "We'll see who's a damn fool." 

He knew it was petty, but at least for now, he wanted to imagine the amount of leverage he would hold over the royal bastards, his hand tightening on the book bag. As he rewatched his memory, something clicked. 

"Oh yeah, the lost girl..." He stopped, the rage subsiding a bit. 

He scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at the sky. It was still midday.

"Ah well, it's not like they'll get murdered the very instant the kid returns with the insignia," he bargained with himself, "And besides, I'm not that far away from where she's supposed to be lost." He continued, as he slowly turned around, "I mean, what if we weren't around? She'd just get abducted or something, and I mean I know where to go now, so there's no rush like last time." he reluctantly began walking in the opposite direction, back to the city centre.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where-" Subaru wandered from one corner of the square to the other, making sure that he didn't simply mistake the layout of the city. "But..." He turned on his heel and scanned the surrounding groups of travellers and residents on their daily business. Not a single sign of the girl.

"But I clearly-" He checked his phone, the time clearly displaying around mid-night in Japanese time, which in terms of this world meant around mid-day. He looked around again. _'Should be around this moment that they passed with... whatever her actual name is. And here...'_

He took a step in-between a couple of stalls. _'Is where she should have been...'_

He slid down the wall, his mind catching up to what this meant. Whether the girl is in danger or not is secondary.

"The looping isn't perfect..." The student mumbled to himself, a heaviness growing within his mind. Whatever advantage he had in this sense, he has lost in a single move... Or even worse...

He stood up, the book bag weighing even heavier on his shoulder than before, the straps pulled down by the questions circling in Subaru's head. 

"Or worse, I have miscalculated the amount that the Butterfly effect has on the equation..." Did HER not joining him get the girl in our or out of danger? Could he really be sure of the result? Would he even be able to reproduce the exact situation to see?

He froze up and shook his head. Why was he thinking as if he would have the opportunity to reproduce such a situation? It's not like he was going to die, actually, he'd prefer not to even NEED to reproduce the situation.

"I'll just avoid all of it before it happens." He gave a nervous giggle, the reality of the situation starting to dawn on him, breaking through the strong concentration he kept on the opportunities he saw and used. "I-I mean... statistically... haha... it's quite rare for me to die... right?" He tried to beat back the anxiety slowly creeping into his head. He began to walk, the rhythm of his footsteps calming him.

_'1 person dies per second'_. That statistic stuck out to him when he browsed the internet. At the time it felt like something curious, something to quote for morbid laughs in the forums or to creep someone out in class. 

_'1 person dies per second'_. But how does each person meet that death? As they bleed out in their crashed car, grab onto their pained ceasing heart, let out their last breath as the unending fever shuts off their organs, silently disappear into their mind as dementia takes over, flatline on the surgical table. Each person, with their love and hate and fear and humanity, simply snuffed out forever.

_'1 person dies per second'_. Subaru became painfully aware of how actually fragile he was. He could fall under a carriage, get stabbed in a random but unlucky way, breathe the same air as some infected idiot, or simply fall down the stairs in an awkward manner. 

BUT FOR HIM, IT WOULD BE ONLY ONE OF MANY TIMES.

He grabbed onto his chest, a sharp pain spreading in his ribcage as his lungs started compressing themselves, the panic of arrival returning to him. He would suffer, but the suffering wouldn't end. He'd come back, over and over and over, until he was a husk, carrying himself forward on mere reflexes.

Subaru stopped and put his free hand over his heart, trying to calm his breathing and the rapid acceleration of his thoughts...

_'Why me?'_

_'Why did you choose me?'_

_'Out of all people, anyone, what did I do to deserve all this?'_

_'I never killed anyone, I never stole, I never abused, I just did what was asked of me.'_

He felt a bitter rage spread through him, his legs working again, carrying him forward, though this time he didn't seem to see, his eyes clouded by red and searing white. 

_'What a sick fuck they must be, putting me through this.'_

_'When I find them...'_

He knocked into something with his shoulder, pushing the person backwards as he blindly stumbled in the general direction of his destination.

"Oh dear!" The unfortunate passer-by exclaimed as Subaru reeled himself back into reality.

The student snapped out of his panic and rage, putting on his amiable mask. "Ah pardon me I wa-" His words caught in his throat.

A pair of purple eyes stared back at him, their owner smiling serenely at him. The student felt a jitter pass through him, head to toe, muscle to bone, unconsciously taking a step back. 

"Oh dear." The purple-eyed woman repeated. "You don't have to be scared."

"Ah-" Subaru pulled the smile even further up. "Forgive me, you reminded me of someone, a passing resemblance, fortunately..." he gave a small relieved laugh.

The woman smiled back at him. "Hm, forgive me as well, I seemed to have smelt the fear on you, even a little rage. I thought it was directed at me but fortunately, it was just something passing." She laughed back.

"Aha... yes..." Subaru dusted himself off. "Forgive me, I would introduce myself but I really have to go. Urgent matter." He pronounced in an emotionless voice, nodding to her and turning around to leave. "Very nice meeting you, ma-"

"It's not very nice to lie to people." The woman noted, the sweetness in her voice being just a single bit TOO sweet.

"P-pardon?" The student stopped, his back still to the stranger.

"At first, I believed you scared and enraged, however, it seems my nose only took in just the first emotions. The secondary was so strong that at first, I thought that you were simply unwashed." She giggled as if telling a very curious anecdote.

Subaru's hand around the shoulder straps tightened. He stayed quiet.

"You hate me, don't you? I could smell the stench of bloodlust on you from several meters away." It took Subaru to maintain his front, the nails of his hands digging into his palm.

The boy turned around, a wide smile frozen onto his lips, "Forgive me madam, but while you may 'smell' some-such, I believe you are mistaken. After all," He chuckled, a barely contained growl hidden behind his exhale. "we have never met before, have we?"

The woman licked her lips, a bizarrely sensual look spreading over her eyes, but passing nearly instantly, her fingers twitching slightly. She hummed. "Well, I would not wish to start a commotion I have no time for." She closed her eyes and nodded to herself. "But oh well, you are most certainly curious. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to meet again." She gave Subaru the last smile, before disappearing in-between the huts, her pace gracious yet clearly decisive, as if a tiger about to pounce on its prey.

Subaru gave her a minute or so, just in case she was about to turn around before his lips dropped and his eyes, which he was usually able to maintain in a friendly look, turned to their more natural 'evil gaze', his mother's genes talking.

He sighed and dropped his book bag to the ground. "What the hell." Now he couldn't even outsmart people. Whether she was just good at reading people or she really did smell his emotions, now he was even more out of his depth. In a sense, it was a little bit ironic to talk to one's own murderer, but the humour was lost on him. 

His mind, just minutes before desperately clawing for a new goal, a clear goal to lock away the fear spreading through him, has finally found it. The insignia for the bitch was just a way of attaining an anchor in this world, but now it mixed in with a genuine goal. Revenge.

A genuine yet crooked grin spread on his lips. His first thoughts had jumped to murder, but he easily deflected that. She clearly would paint the floor with him, no way he would be able to do anything. However, there are ways of getting back at people without ever physically damaging them.

His mind raced as he thought through the murderer's goals, while he slowly went from walk to jog to spring to the thief's hideout. She clearly went for the thief and took her out. There was no way that this wasn't connected to the insignia, considering its importance in whatever bloated corpse of a political system they had in this world. If she wanted the insignia, he could get to the thief first, and buy it out. If the purple-eye hired the thief to steal it, instead of disembowelling Satella by luring her into a dark alley and looting it of a dead body, for example, there was a clear incentive to NOT hurt Satella.

The picture started assembling. What first seemed to be barely strung together now made a bit more sense. A politically motivated steal was the most probable outcome, the plan ingenious in its own simplicity. If the thief got cut down after stealing the insignia, there would be no strings connecting anywhere, and it's not unlikely for pickpockets to get killed for thieving, especially in such poor parts of town. A simple disagreement over the cut of the spoils, or a drunken accident, they could all be put up as what occurred, and it would be unlikely the security here would look into it too much.

While the goal was still unclear, it was not something Subaru was going to delve into, not yet. He finally slowed down as he approached the abandoned tavern, deciding to give himself a second to collect his thoughts.

_'Simple, it's simple, I walk in, exchange my...'_ He fished through his bookbag, looking for something that could come off as a rarity. His gaze stopped on his phone. True, it was a useful tool on mother-world, but here it would just run out of battery soon.

_'Might as well.'_ He tore off the cellphone strap and stuffed it into his bag, the small hourglass on the string clinking slightly as it lay down in-between the books. _'But not this... it's not good to give away gifts.'_

He stepped up to the door and did a calming breath. _'Iiiiiiiiin-ooooooouuuut.'_

"Godspeed." He knocked and waited, his hand unconsciously tapping on the volume buttons of his flip phone to release the pressure. The slit on the door opened, huge eyes staring back at him.

"Who?" Came a low slurred rumble from behind the door, utterly uninterested in the visitor.

"Heard you were about to pawn off the jewel your little thief br-"

The voice interrupted. "We ain't sellin'." The slit started to close.

"You don't even want to hear my offer?" Subaru asked, still maintaining an air of faux confidence. The slit stopped, the eyes disappearing into the darkness, before reappearing seconds later. 

"Ye can come in, but we wait for our original customer, then we see ye offers." The door lock clicked and swung open while a pit formed in Subaru's stomach. Meeting the purple-eye again was very low on his list of terrible ways to spend his time.

He sighed, stepping into the opened door. 

_'Well, worst-case, I can try again.'_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The revolutionary stared onto the burning husk of the exploded ammunition depot as militiamen with buckets ran around trying to put out the building and its surroundings. Several other houses had their windows blown out, the civilians walking out and staring fearfully at the inferno.

"This is sabotage." The first one of the three to cut the silence was Chin. "Clear-fucken'-cut."

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Hummed Otto as he also looked on at the flames. "While I do not always agree with the President, this is probably one of the few phrases I can attribute some truthfulness to."

Chin gave out a frustrated sigh. "Ye suuuure? What about the red-head fuck. He ain't around." The bandit spit out in a low rage. "Maybe he-"

"I ordered him to secure all the other minor depots within the Guard stations." Subaru finally broke his own silence, his speech cutting off Chin instantly. "Otherwise, he has no benefit to undermining us." He stood up and turned to face the other two. "And for now we have no evidence for either sabotage or mistakes. We should wait until this is put out." He turned to Chin. "Get the militias on the borders on high alert. Be ready for an attack, and get some rest. There is a long day ahead, we may have to get ready for war." The bandit's eyes sparkled at the words, he gave a grin and nodded. Subaru then turned to Otto. "Assess the damage if possible, otherwise also get some shut-eye." 

Otto noted something into his pocketbook, as he scanned the disembowelled building with his eyes and also nodded, his movements much more strained and mechanical, scared."I'm going to head back to the Convention. Tomorrow we'll start an investigation, be it sabotage or stupidity. We'll also need to do the usual song and dance with the Convention members." The revolutionary straightened out his jacket. "Good evening gentlemen." He began to walk away from the exploded depot, his mind boiling.

He ran through all the possibilities as he walked (his mind tended to work better when he was travelling, he noted to himself.)

It could have been Royalists, left-over Crusch sympathisers and Royal Knights.

Or the Beast-Men, as they further continued to aggravate the racial tensions that had stayed around even with the arrival of a more 'democratic' government.

Or was it the Vollachians, terrified by how quickly Subaru's ideas spread into their youth, tired of the hyper-militarism of their forefathers?

Or the Kararagi, who's very confidence of the untouchability of the merchant class was shaken by his war on guilds. 

Or Gusteko, with its zealots and fear of the Enlightenment (or Corruption, how they called it).

Subaru rubbed the bridge of his nose as he ascended the stairs of the royal palace. This was pointless, he had nothing to go on. Their enemies all wanted to annihilate them and all had the means to do so, if not instantly, then through attrition. He caught himself on the thought that he hasn't considered one outcome: that this was an accident. Uncareful handling, smoking, anything could have set off the powder. He rubbed his eyes.

He couldn't fall into paranoia. He couldn't turn into a tyrant, a Robespierre, throwing all the suspicious under the Razor. And yet... and yet...

He opened the door to his underground office, nothing having changed in his several hours of absence, besides the sounds of Julius's beating seizing. The walls were still stone, the furniture still wood, the papers still strewn around, he noted to himself. No one had tried to get into his documents or find something out. The reflex to make sure he had no sudden visitors never left him, not after all of his intrigues in the Capital before the Revolt.

It had long dawned on him that in all of its complexity, revolutions were much easier to build than governments, but he could never shake the feeling like he was constantly blindsided, constantly grasping at straws. He sat down in the creaking chair and looked over the documents, translated and not, before putting his head into his hands. Was this how Napoleon felt? Was this how he had to battle to build up the French Empire?

His head touched the wood of the table, emitting another creak. He hadn't slept in a bed in weeks, but he seemed to be used to it by this point, the dents in the table feeling familiar. He closed his eyes, allowing his mind to relax, just a little bit. His body lost its weight as he floated off into sleep.

He dreamt of white hair, burning landscapes and his crying parents. Yet again.


	7. The National Convention

It was the same feeling that he felt when the hands baptized his heart in darkness. Like suffocating for eternity and yet at the same time only for a second. Just as his being resisted the state upon entrance, it also resisted being thrown out, as if reality was being force-fed his existence and then made to spew him out in a grisly fashion. Yet with every time, it felt the seams holding him together rot more and more, her voice becoming quieter and quieter.

"I l- e -ou." He recognized that voice yet felt no dread. In his conscious mind, he knew the severance was imminent, meanwhile, his subconscious saw how weak she actually was.

"- -ove y-." He also has long stopped feeling rage about that love. It was pointless to despise something that loved him from afar, the power she held over him had slowly faded, its benefits and drawbacks had nothing to do with the reality he lived in anymore.

"I love you." And yet, she still whispered to him softly, through the few threads she tied around his heart. But that was all she could do. All the power over him she had left, only useful when he slept.

  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
"President Subaru." He felt something shaking him lightly and he slowly opened his eyes, the motion painfully heavy.

"President Subaru, please wake up." The shaking continued.

"I'm up, I'm up." Natsuki pronounced in a very clear voice, though his mind was still mired in the nightmares. He slowly lifted himself to be met by the soft smile on the face of the white-haired merchant staring at him.

"Are you sure?" Otto chuckled as he took a step back from the wooden table, giving the revolutionary space to sit up in his chair. "Isn't it unbecoming of such a leader to sleep at his desk?"

"If I had the time for bedding I wouldn't be sleeping at the table now would I," Subaru grumbled and yawned. "Also the discomfort helps me get up."

Otto shrugged, though his face maintained the same slight grin. "Well, that's a strange way to explain your own over-exertion." While it was said with humour, there was still a slight concern. The revolutionary noted that.

"Watch it, Otto, we may be friends, but I'm still the President of the National Convention. You mess with me and I'll just wrap up the Revolution and install a second Monarchy." The two began laughing at the terrible attempt at humour, as dark as it was.

"Ahhh," Natsuki finally sat up and stretched, his spine and arms giving audible cracks. "Alright then, enough humour for now. Anything occur while I was asleep?"

"Yep, here are the reports." Otto handed him the document files and took a chair to sit down across him, crossing one leg over the other.

Subaru wiped his eyes and sighed, opening the first report.

"Production report for the month of Arbe.."

"Production growing..."

"Military numbers are up..."

"Food stores and civilian economy bound for pre-war levels..."

"Trade restored with several Kararagi towns..."

"Spread of literacy..."

Natsuki smiled, but then frowned. New phrases began appearing in the analysis.

"Sabotage..."

"Summary executions of anti-revolutionary rebels..."

"Use of involuntary labour..."

"Razor..."

"Northern and Southern unrest..."

He swallowed. For now, they needed the first phrases. For now, he would have to close his eyes on the second. Just... for now...

He tossed the files to the side of the table and took another set.

"Inner affairs report..."

"White Knights remnants confir-"

"Attempts at industrial espi-"

"Heightened activity at Vollachian b-"

"Gustekan priest-provocate-"

He scanned these much faster. Nothing essentially changed, the militias could hold off the collapse but he would need an actual internal affairs ministry to organize a stable government. 

"Otto."

"Hm?" The young man looked up from his notebook and put the pen behind his ear.

"We need internal security..."

"We most certainly do..."

Subaru thought for a second. While he could assign Chin to the position, making the fool even more important was only going to end in tears really.

"Go find some candidates."

Otto stared back with a surprised gaze. "You sure? You know that we'll probably make them the fifth on the council of ours."

The revolutionary sighed. "Not much of a choice. Responsibilities keep expanding, and while this little replacement of a functioning government may work, for now, we need to break this irreplaceability problem of ours."

Otto chuckled. "You sound like you wanna replace us."

Subaru shook his head, a smile forming on his lips, "No no, I just wanna make sure that our behemoth can stand on its own feet without me."

Otto shrugged and noted something down, "Aaaaaalright, anything else?"

The revolutionary remembered yesterday night, the drowsiness having dulled him slightly, "What happened to the ammunition depot? Any results yet?"

"Oh yeah, that." The white-hair flipped back a couple of pages in his book. "Nothing conclusive yet, we found a body but it's charred beyond any comprehension. We've been looking for someone who could at least heal the burnt skin, maybe we'll recognize them by their physique or face."

The president sighed and stretched again. "Put the finding of candidates for internal affairs as the most important, it seems that we're losing our hold. Otherwise, we haven't reached the bottlenecks I feared, so I think we're done for today."

Otto stood up, "Well then, Mr President, do take care. We still have that National Convention meeting at midday."

Natsuki grumbled, "More of this goddamn theatre."

Otto put his book away, "It's only as theatrical as you make it, anyways I-" His expression changed to one of remembrance, his eyebrows going up slightly. "Oh yes, I heard my aide got arrested recently. Would it be a stretch to say that the President had a hand in that?"

Subaru shrugged. "Guilty as charged. Saw the guy beating his woman's head in. Also, he started invoking your name when I got him, said that I'll be a very sorry individual if I don't let him go." The revolutionary took out a quill, ready for what he'd have to do next.

"For all your heroics, I'll need you to let him go." Otto pronounced with a terrible reluctance.

"Trade connections?" Said Subaru as he nonchalantly began scrawling his 'point of view' on what occurred with that aide.

"Unfortunately." The irritation in Otto's voice was palpable. 

Natsuki dotted the last sentence and handed the note to Otto with a huff. "Should get your charmer outta the cell. Should be it, for now."

"Yeah..." The trader slipped the note in his pocket, the piece of paper crumpling under Otto's grasp. "See you, then."

"You too, old friend." Subaru gave a small salute. Otto smiled with a small bit of sadness, turned around and opened the door, only to stumble into Heinkel's much bulkier figure.

"Well? You two done?" The Hussar looked down at the white-haired trader disapprovingly, Otto replying with his own cold gaze.

"We most certainly are." He replied, a small air of aggression driving itself through the phrasing, before squeezing past the red-haired Hussar's frame and walking away, the taps of his shoes reverberating through the corridors.

Heinkel entered shutting the door behind him with a bang. "Took your sweet time waking up." He growled, before taking out his flask and taking a sip.

"Stressful times Heinkel, and all things considered I prefer to steer clear of whatever poison you've got keeping you awake," Subaru replied with the annoyance of a straight-A student being offered cigarettes.

"Furthermore, you wanted to talk to me about Julius's offer yesterday." The revolutionary steered the topic back to the matters at hand, as usual, the old man always would get off-topic.

"Yeah." Heinkel pronounced as he took the chair in front of Subaru's desk and smashed it down backwards, sitting down on it with leg's outstretched, his gaze boring into the President. "He had a deal, but you won't like it."

"Enlighten me." The revolutionary responded amiably, trying to keep the conversation away from Heinkel's usual terrible habit of aggressive dialogue.

"He'll sign the papers, but the bastard wants to be released, WITH his brother into Kararagi lands," Heinkel growled out the agreement, his hand tensing on the flask as he took another gulp to calm himself. "The little bitch thinks he's got some sort of leverage."

The revolutionary intertwined his fingers, "Well, he isn't completely wrong." He mumbled with dissatisfaction. "The only other participant we can pull into this is Felix, however, we'll have to go through all the Beastmen he roused up against us."

_'The problem, of course, isn't Juulius's leaving here. Keeping him is more expenditure on us, the guy is still a skilled knight, so keeping him tied down and away from escape is only more wasted time and energy.'_ Natsuki considered. _'Rather, it is a problem of what he'll do next. If he was rational, he'd grab his family and never come near Lugnica again...'_

Subaru could feel a slight migraine begin in his right temple, _'but he isn't rational, not at all...'_

"Move him down here while we think over the agreement." Subaru pronounced calmly.

Heinkel stopped mid-way to another gulp, giving Natsuki a distrustful glance, "You sure about this? And what if he breaks out?" 

"Then we'll try to fix that issue, for now, we gotta keep him close and well-guarded, and there's no safer place than the National Convention." The president stood up, pushing the seat backwards and brushing off the dust on his overcoat. "After all, we have no back-up opportunities."

Heinkel grimaced before taking another gulp and also getting up off his chair, one of his muskets tapping the seat. "I'd say your dumb ass is playing with fire, but considering this got us here I'll just go with it." 

"Suppose so, suppose so, oh, and what is the time right now?" 

"Around midday, or so." 

Natsuki huffed, "I have the National Convention meeting right about now. Suppose you will not be there?" 

Heinkel shook his head, his face showing a revulsion at the simplest idea of sitting in the same room as the politicians. "Waste of time, the people that have to vote for your decisions will vote for them. Otherwise-"

"Yeah, yeah, 'pencil-pushers'. Seems to be your favourite phrase at this point." Subaru responded jovially. "I hope you're using all the Convention-free time to continue dissolving Chin's militias?" 

Heinkel gave a low affirmative grunt. "Just as you orde-"

The revolutionary cut him off. "I don't remember ordering you such a thing, of course not." Though his grin could not be hidden that easily.

The Hussar shook his head. "I'll never understand why you have all that dislike for him. At least he and I have our own... conflicts."

"Just playing favourites, field marshal." The president opened the door ready to leave, "After all, I wouldn't want the average citizen fighting these dangerous, dangerous wars. We shall decide on the outcome for Juukulius after the meeting." 

As Natsuki took his first step out of his 'office', he could notice Heinkel's fists tighten and mouth open just for a centimetre as if he was about to say something, however, preferred to ignore it. The conversation would come back to its usual cycle: the damn wife, and when Natsuki would begin developing the medical sector. That date was long-off, but Heinkel would probably never stop being obnoxious about it.

The door shut, Heinkel disappearing behind it and Natsuki walked on. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hall that used to house the Sage Council has changed beyond any comprehension. The royal gold that could be removed without destabilizing the structure, was removed. The seats at the front of the room, where the Sages used to reside, also disappeared. The throne, like a beating heart of the palace, was torn out, a wooden platform with the symbol of a rose painted on its front, a single makeshift lectern standing in its place. The colourful patterns on the walls were painted over or broken off, sucking the colour out of the room but also destroying the needless opulence with it. The red and gold banners were now replaced by simple red, black roses painted over each one.

The columns between which stood the 2000 White Knights were now housing lines of tables, each slightly higher than the one in front of it, seating the representative of each region that was created within the Lugnican Republic, the crowd discussing and arguing between itself before the meeting commenced.

Subaru took a deep breath and straightened his back. Steeling his nerves, he began walking down the central passage that divided the room of the National Convention in two. No matter how many times he did it, the anxiety never completely passed, only submerged itself, covered by determination and need for action.

With each step, those who noticed the arrival of the president went quiet and scrambled for their seats. As he ascended the platform and stood behind the lectern, he looked over the silent crowd in front of him, noting each faction within it.

The ex-merchants, now as their own businessmen sat in their own corner, surrounding Otto, who held onto his notebook, ready to note whatever came out of the president's mouth. This voting block was the strangest, as its position went from utterly horrid, as their guilds collapsed under the Revolution's boot, to completely supportive, as they were all pushed into the free market, with resources in hand and ideas in their heads. New ones came, old ones stayed, the unfit left, but one thing stayed constant: Otto. Everyone knew Otto's friendship with the Great Revolutionary himself, so they voted in a block, following Otto's outlook. Whoever decided to go up against him, would be simply pushed out through the net of connections the merchants still had.

On the other side sat the militarists, newly-fashioned officers and generals, extremely talented militiamen and ex-Royal forces. The block solidified under the president's new-fangled idea: nationalism, and the push for military conscription that came with it. However, its leader was never present. Heinkel made sure to hammer out ANY disloyal forces and ANY of those who _seemed_ disloyal: if one ever even seen the face of Marcos Gildark, the Captain of the Royal Guard, he made sure to forget it. Held by bloodlust, and desire to kick the monarchists down with their new weapons, the block thrived on populism, militarism and nationalism. Subaru cringed. It was not a good sign, as fascism should not come in for at least a couple more centuries.

Next came the revolutionaries, their gazes hungrily catching every movement of their dear ideologue on-stage. Lawyers, archivists, self-taught serfs, the loudest street heralds of the land. The educated middle class, as small as it was, latched onto Subaru's ideals, the ideas of Enlightenment overtaking them like a fever. Natsuki allowed himself a small smile. If there is hope, it lies with them. If he were to disappear, these men and women would write, shout and extend his idea to the whole world, no matter the danger, no matter the place.

Finally, he let his gaze wander to the mid-sized yet loudest crowd. The People, their centre being Chin who seemed to be retelling some sort of crude story, a couple of peasants erupting into roaring laughter. They were simple, they were uneducated, but most importantly, they were fence-sitters. The revolutionary could not describe his frustration as his attempt at equaling the genders crashed and burnt. Bread and circuses kept them within the National Convention, Chin's strongarming begrudgingly directing this disgusting mob in the direction that Subaru wanted. It was impulsive egoistic and close-minded, but for all of his distaste, Subaru always reminded himself, that all of this was supposed to be for THEM.

He cleared his throat and allowed his speaker voice to come out. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the National Convention."

"I come to you at a dark time. Our freedoms, our ideals and the truth we carry are in danger..." A pause.

"We live in a hostile world. A world where an idea that could improve the lives of many is stifled by the guild, where the common man is treated no better than an animal, when a child cannot even read without being born in the right family, one where one's position is determined by their magical gifting instead of skill." There was a murmur of agreement within the whole crowd.

"To remedy this, to allow each voice to speak, each idea to flourish, each talent to rise, we have created our republic. But even NOW, even now there are people who do not wish to see us stand. They FEAR us for our ideas outshine theirs, our reason burning down their Old Regime. Yesterday their fear has boiled over. The Capital, the flaming torch within this dark world, has been attacked yesterday, an explosion killing and maiming ordinary citizens. Upon further investigation, the Revolutionary Guard has found that the perpetrators of this cruel and rabid attack were none other than the Vollachia Empire." There were murmurs of scorn at the mention of Vollachia, some of the peasants around Chin even shouting _'Fuck the Emperor!'_. On the other hand, Otto looked onto Subaru with a confused look, the investigation not having even begun, Subaru was already announcing its results.

"The very epicentre of self-professed _'honourable'_ warriors had inadvertently murdered civilians, widowing the Capital's mothers, orphaning the Capital's sons. As they rub their hands and lick their lips at the borders, our militias keep the grey menace at bay. Not a single Lugnican foot was set on their lands, no shot fired that was not defensive, but now these animals had finally come not for us, but for OUR FAMILIES!" The murmurs began to grow in volume, some people mouthing or shouting obscenities about the Vollachian Emperor or cheering on Subaru.

"This cannot continue! And this SHALL not continue! From today onwards the Lugnican Republic is in a state of preparation for war!" A cheer exploded in the militaristic corner, as the officers stood up and began cheering Subaru even louder.

"IF THEY SHALL COME TO US WITH A SWORD, **THEY SHALL PERISH FROM IT!** " The militarists applauded, along with the revolutionaries, followed by the peasants, leaving only the merchants in stunned silence.

Subaru felt pride surge. These people followed him, his ideas, some of them were even ready to die for him. This was the new chapter of the Revolution, one which would bring freedom to-

His eyes noticed a pair of red cat ears within the crowd. He knew each member of the National Convention by heart and he never-

The cat ears were just meters away, which surprised him considering that someone MUST have noticed the intruder. He looked around but the Revolutionary Guard seemed to not have noticed the person. Subaru slowly began to back away from the stand. 

_'Something is wrong.'_

Upon taking a second step, the person jumped out of the crowd and on the platform. 

"FOR THE INDEPENDENT TERRITORIES!" The red-haired beast-man's voice rang out, as she suddenly pulled out the musket from her cloak. Natsuki stumbled backwards, his eyes noticing the guards scrambling to take aim at the assassin.

**BANG!**

Subaru felt a hot red poker stick in his chest as he grabbed onto the stand to not fall, his legs near-failing under him, with the bullet burrowed into his ribcage. The cheering of the crowd, up to now ignorant of such quick happenings on the stage, morphed into an enraged roar. 

**BANG!**

It wasn't one of the guards. Somebody from the militarist crowd fired, nailing the assassin in the shoulder, knocking her down. 

Subaru's vision swam as he attempted to stand up straight, his blood staining his side of the lectern. His vision tunnelled as he felt his breath catch. He slid down and fell on the stage. 

The roar of the crowd seemed far away as someone grabbed him by the shoulders.

"G- 'im a do-r qu-!" 

Subaru's eyes focused on the musket lying in the hands of the assassin. His mind tiredly formulated one phrase as he sank into the dark.

_'Ironic.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the longest chapter I wrote, but I didn't want to split Subaru's conversations and the description of the National Convention. 
> 
> My hands hurt and it's not even that long compared to all those 5k writers ;-;
> 
> Otherwise, thank you for reading, and I am open to criticism in the comments.


	8. The Negotiation

The giant took another loud sip of his mead, the sound grating on the student's already strained nerves, the knuckles holding the phone already white with pressure.

"Would you mind drinking, a slight bit quieter?" Subaru pronounced with a strained calm.

The giant looked away from his enormous pint, a curious glint appearing in his irises, "Eh?"

"Would you kindly be slightly quieter about the way you drink?" Subaru pronounced, keeping his voice as even as he could. No matter the amount of bravado he filled himself with, every second that got him closer to the purple eyes made his stomach churn terribly, each beat of his heart coming through painfully.

The giant, who introduced himself as Rom, shrugged and took a couple of gulps of his mead, slightly quieter but not much of a change. "What's got yer in such a coil?" He suddenly inquired, a hint of curiosity mixed into the supposed boredom he conveyed.

Subaru opened his mouth but stopped himself from telling anything close to the truth about the 'customer' that would arrive. It would be preferable to keep his deck as hidden as possible, after all, he'd have to negotiate.

"Important business, important people, a bit on the edge, you know how it is." He responded, giving the fence an uneven, nervous smile.

The interest fizzled in the giant's eyes as he gave a grunt, without affirmation or negation, and returned to his cup.

Subaru ran a hand through his hair. What the hell was he doing? Was this really worth it? If he meets her again, he'll be a thin paste all over these wooden floors, that's certain. Then that's it, any progression was pointless.

The student put both his hands on the table, as if he was about to stand up, but paused. But what if he could really outmanoeuvre her? What's he going to do after he leaves? Jump off a bridge? Throw himself under a carriage? The very thought sent shivers down his spine. No, there's no way he could voluntarily just give up. And there were no other opportunities as luxurious as this.

The student's thoughts were disturbed by a knock on the door. Something small and reflexive flicked on in his brain as his body compressed like a spring, readying himself to run.

"Oh calm down, will ye?" Grom grumbled amusedly and lumbered towards the door.

The eye-slit opened, letting a ray of red evening light cut through the dusty interior.

"For a rat?"

"Poison."

"For a white wale?"

"A harpoon."

"To the noble dragon lord, we are?"

"Shitbags!"

The student noted the password in his mind. No knowledge in this world has no use, everything can be used at some point.

The door creaked open, revealing the short outline of the thiefling, the crimson light of the sunset bathing the room.

"Sorry to keep ya waiting, Old Man! The target was a bit persi-" Felt, or however her name changed from the previous loop, if it did, stood in her tracks.

"You!" She jumped back unsheathing her blade, Subaru raising his hands in a terrified surrender. "You're the one that tried to grab me, back there!"

The student's mind raced as he tried to come up with a clever response. "W-well, you've clearly gotten something my contractor wanted, don't take it personally." He replied with a shaky voice. Violence still seemed to drop ice into his stomach.

"Hmph!" The thief sheaved her blade and entered the hideout, shutting the door behind her. "Still not a reason to start using the armoured shitbag patrols to your advantage!"

Subaru lowered his arms and gave a nervous laugh, "Well, you know how they say it, despite one is in favour of the other."

"Never heard anyone say it like that," Felt responded brashly as she sat down at the round table and took out the jewel. Natsuki's eyes trailed her putting it down in the middle of the table, the deep blood red and shining gold luring him in like a siren's song, "and don't you think of going for it, I'll cut you down faster than a Royal Knight." She added on, following Natsuki's gaze.

Rom also stood up from the counter, walking up to the table. "So I see that quite a few dogs are barking up this tree." He observed affably. "This'll be quiet a deal!"

"Most certainly." Responded Subaru as he tried to hide his annoyance. "Well, while our second 'customer' didn't arrive, how about I make my offer first?"

Rom crossed his arms, measuring Subaru up. "And how much does your contractor offer for this piece of jewellery?"

Subaru shook his head, "Unfortunately, my contractor is not very endowed with liquid assets."

"Huh?" Felt stared at Subaru, unsure of what he meant with that phrasing.

"Means that he ain't got any holy coins on him," Rom clarified quickly, trying to keep the negotiation going.

"What?! Then why are we even listening to him!?" Felt responded, grabbing the insignia.

"H-however, my contractor has several assets to offer, s-so to speak, which can be turned liquid!" Subaru interjected to clarify, panic in his voice. _'This deal can't go sour.'_

Felt gave him another confused look, "Bro, can you speak human already?"

"Look." Subaru grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "This little artefact here can freeze a moment in time and store it, it's simple." Subaru turned off the flash and clicked the camera's button, an audible click coming out of the flip phone.

The fence and the thief stared confusedly off of the screen of the phone back at themselves.

"H-huh?" Felt snatched the phone out of the student's hands with a skill of some of the greatest pickpockets, Subaru staring in surprise at his hand now empty.

"So you're offering a metia?!" Felt re-iterated.

"I believe that this SHOULD cost quite a bit." pronounced the Natsuki, going out on a limb. The idea of a metia was slowly starting to make sense. Anything that he offered was called a metia, so it made sense to think that maybe it was a way of calling... _'Magic items?'_ Subaru supposed.

"Hmmm..." Rom put a hand up to his wrinkled chin, deep in thought.

"Yeah right!" Felt pronounced sarcastically, sliding the phone across the table. "This probably won't cover the costs."

However, Rom stopped her. "Metias like this ain't very common... I'd rate it at about... well, let's say at about 20 coins."

Felt's head snapped to stare at the old giant, "Wha-? Really?"

Rom shrugged. Subaru on the other hand sat back and stretched. He wasn't sure of the currency in this world, but judging from their reaction, it was enough to give him an upper hand. 

However, the triumph was short-lived. There was a very light knock on the door, nearly silent, however to the three sitting at the table it rang out louder than any thunder.

Looking over at Felt, Grom sighed and stood up and lumbered to the door. The eye-slit opened and closed, no questions asked, and the door creaked open.

Subaru mentally prepared himself as best he could, but even on the second meeting, he could not calm himself. The fear and uncertainty gave way to a ringing screaming rage, a hate so strong he felt the taste of iron in his mouth as he unconsciously bit down on his tongue.

"Oh my, oh my, how surprising." Her voice was sweet and soft as the purple-eyed monster walked into the room and sat down at the table, opposite Subaru, near-ignoring the giant standing at the door. "So I suppose this was your 'urgent matter', hm?"

Subaru's mind held back the violent mess of rage and disgust that was about to come out of his mouth and the student smiled instead, "Well, one can't be to open in their business nowadays. I suppose our second meeting is an event enough in and of itself to deserve introductions." He stood up and nodded to her, maintaining a frozen smile, "Natsuki Subaru, on-contract negotiator, pleasure making your acquaintance." He sat back down, "And you are?"

The murderer didn't get up to introduce herself, giggling delicately instead. "While I thank you for the pleasantries, you are not charming or authoritative enough to pull off such introductions, it makes you look inexperienced." Subaru felt a pang of hurt pride. "My name is Elsa Granhiert, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." 

"Can ye get on with the business already?" Interjected Felt, clearly uncomfortable with the weird formality duel happening in front of her. She pointed at Subaru, "This guy's offered an item worth 20 holy coins, outbid him and the insignia's yours." Rom also came back to the table, sitting down across from Felt, looking on at the two deal-makers.

Elsa placed down a stack of silver-looking coins. "Thankfully my contractor was ready for such an event. There are 45 coins here, it should cover the cost." 

Subaru's heart sank. 45? 45 coins? How in the damn was he going to outbid that? All of his books were heavily text-based, they'd have no value mostly. Except-

The museum guide slammed down on the desk as Subaru hurriedly took it out of his bag. "Collection of some of the finest art I could find, how much would you value it?"

Grom carefully lifted the book, it's size miniature compared to his palms and looked inside. "This is some VERY high-quality painting, hasn't even got any stroke lines on it." He rubbed a page slightly. "And it must be a metia, 'cause I never saw paintings that don't erase."

Subaru patiently awaited the fence's decision on the book, his foot unconsciously beginning to tap on the grimy wood floor. Felt hid her curiosity as she looked from across the table at the huge 'collection', clearly wishing to take a look. Elsa's expression didn't change at all, at best she looked bored.

"A collector would value this at... about 50, maybe 60 coins." Felt's eyes went wide. This exchange clearly had more money in it than she probably ever held in her hands, let alone seen. Elsa's expression, on the other hand, changed very little. Her upturned lips dropped ever-so-slightly, however, she maintained her usual delicate smile.

The thief looked around unsurely. "W-well..." She pronounced, clearly still thinking over how much money just changed hands right in front of her nose. "I guess... it's his." She pointed at Subaru and took out the piece of jewellery again and put it down on the table.

However, Subaru didn't seem to be concentrated on the prize he was chasing after for so long. Something in his gut felt off. Elsa was not disappointed and something ticked him off about it. Wouldn't she try to negotiate further? Wouldn't she try to outbid him? A slow shiver began creeping up his spine. 

_'No, she clearly doesn't think she's defeated. Which means that she's most likely going to use another means of getting it out of me...'_

Subaru rubbed his side, around where his lower half disconnected from him. _'This is bad...'_

He snapped out of his thoughts as Elsa opened her mouth, "While this IS quite disappointing, however, I would like to ask, why were you so interested in getting your hands on this jewel?"

Subaru sat back, and responded calmly, maintaining an air of undisturbed tranquillity. In his mind, however, Subaru carefully navigated his own web of observations. If the murderer was hired to steal the jewel, she clearly wanted it away from Satella, so the only real way he could screw up would be to say that he was going to return it. "You'd better ask my contractor, but from his demeanour, he wanted to keep the jewel to himself. You know the rich and eccentric, exotica is all that matters. If it's rare, they got to have it."

Elsa nodded and smiled. "Most certainly." With a rustle of her cloak, she stood up. "Well, I suppose this is my loss. I shall take my leave." 

Subaru followed suit, grabbing the insignia on the way. "Same for me." He nodded to the thief and the fence. "I suppose I will not be seeing you around, but thanks for letting me barter early." Felt crossed her arms, shrugged and looked away. Grom seemed to be too enticed in the two items that Subaru offered to even care, the phone giving out a few clicks as the giant thumbed the controls.

The murderer and the student headed for the exit, Natsuki allowing Elsa to pass through first, as he attempted to make out any shapes or outlines of weaponry through her cloak. The door creaked, and the lights of the abandoned tavern disappeared with a creak of the door, the night welcoming the two 'contractors'.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night didn't change since the last loop, but then again, Natsuki would probably be unable to make out the difference in the utter darkness. There were drunk shouts in the distance, dog barks on parallel-running streets. Same shit-filled streets. Subaru wondered at how easily he got used to it, all it took was dying once. He chuckled to himself at the morbidity.

After having gone in opposite directions with Elsa, he felt himself relax a bit, his steps becoming lighter and back straightening. While he was most certainly wasn't out of the woods yet, he still had a better chance at surviving now.

He thumbed the insignia and took it out to look it over. The red jewel sparkled in the night and... glowed?

Subaru rubbed his eyes, but no, it was there, the crimson pulsed slightly and seemed to flicker a little, like a candle in the wind. The light was so weak, that he didn't even notice it in the tavern or in the evening sun, but there was no mistake. Subaru turned the piece of jewel over quizzically as if expecting the answer and the user manual on the opposite side. Nothing. There was no clear explanation. When Felt touched it with her glove, it was fine, he couldn't see the difference. When Rom touched it... but he didn't, not even once...

He really wasn't sure. Maybe it glowed when anyone held it? Or was it possibly some curse that was put on the whole thing if the user didn't have royal blood in him?

The student shivered at the implications of an object which could subdivide people by class as if it was natural and pulled down his sleeve to his palm, putting the insignia on top, making sure that, just in case, there was no skin contact. The glow instantly stopped, the crimson snuffed out.

Subaru sighed. Clearly, he would need more information, MUCH more, to get used to this world, and dropped the jewel into his pocket. He then felt something fall in front of him...

His stomach exploded into a red mess and he fell to his knees, a rusty smell permeating. Close up he finally understood what dropped. His stomach's contents were lying in front of him, stringing out of a huge wound that he didn't understand how he got.

"Puhuhu..." He heard quiet steps approach him from the front, and tried to look up.

Purple eyes. He swore incoherently as he tried to gather up his guts like dirty laundry and stand up, the adrenaline and rage guarding his senses against the searing pain.

"At first, I thought that maybe I should let you go. But considering your smell, I think trusting you would be too risky." Subaru felt someone kick him in the shoulder, hard, knocking him over to the side, exposing his strewn around insides. "And look at your the colour of your guts! So expressive!" Natsuki tried to rise again, but the blood was just pouring too much, his head going light. He was losing the fight.

He could feel it again, the dark at the sides of his vision, the murky water rising to claim him. In a last-ditch attempt, be it due to the horror of dying alone or just to spite her, he looked in her face.

There was something sensual, something near-orgasmic in the way she looked at him bleed out. Some sort of vile bile came up to Subaru's lips and he vomited, tasting more iron and rust, but he maintained eye contact.

"Oh my, Oh my. Well, look at you, all stoic." The purple-eyed beast sang as she stared back, licking her lips. Subaru could now feel nausea, a great disgust, and wanted to close his eyes and let it all disappear.

As the hands caressed his heart and began pulling it down, one thought, however, fought against all his nature.

_'Don't look away.'_ For it is weakness.

_'Don't look away.'_ For it is fear.

_'Don't look away.'_ For it is cowardice. 

_'Don't loo-_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"'Twas late 95 at the old Guard arms yard_  
_They were commissioned to break ye old star_  
_And fought for Von Astrea there on the bar_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll"_

The voices were far away and they were many, not really in tune with each other, but good enough. Subaru painfully attempted to pull apart his eyelids, but still barely had the strength. It was sunny and warm, he could feel it on his skin, a pleasant feeling he rarely knew after the Revolt.

_"For when the Vollachians took up to the sea_  
_When their army on high was the power to be_  
_A damn royal monster crawled on Tigracy_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll, me boys_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll"_

While he generally felt so light, each breath he now took tore at each nerve, his own ribs trying to murder him.

_"The Witches, The Knights, each took their call_  
_He was the basterd to out-reach 'em all_  
_From the banks of the Augria to the hills of Giral_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll"_

He finally used all his strength to open his eyes. It was a barrack, a house taken from the royals to use for the army's hospitals.

_"And the damned bitch Barielle tried to cut down his time_  
_To watch all the giants stoop down on our tides_  
_No bitch could protect all the royals reviled_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll, me boys_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll"_

He also finally understood the singing. It was one of the militarists' songs, so that meant...

_"And it's one for the hot sun above_  
_Two for the roses we love_  
_And it's three for the fires that burn down below_  
_Roll on Von Astrea_  
_Roll, Von Astrea, Roll"_

There was a short snicker, "Took you a while." Subaru pushed himself to look to the other side of his bed, still weak and hurt. His gaze was met by Heinkel's red hair. "Welcome back to the land of the damn living, pencil-pusher."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little treat before the beginning of the week. Oh, and the song at the end goes to the tune of 'Roll Northumbria', so if you need to understand how it actually sounds without trying to decipher the tempo, it should be on Youtube.
> 
> Otherwise, as always, open to criticism in the comments.


	9. The Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't posted during the weekend. Unfortunately, I had a very busy week and couldn't make the deadline. Sorry duders -_-
> 
> As always, critique me in the comments. Plot holes? Spelling mistakes? Repetition? Go ahead and let me know.

Subaru looked at Heinkel through half-closed eyes, and shut them again, breathing out tiredly. "Where am I?" His voice was weak, but the way he said it, his pronunciation, it maintained the same steel that he had when he said his speeches, or when he spoke on the battlefield.

"Fleur Armoury, got the stronger ones stationed here after all."

The name tickled at Subaru's exhausted senses. _'Fleur... Ah yes, we're in the outskirts of Capital, or at least some distance away.'_

"Why did you get me out?" Subaru's voice regained some of its strength, his pronunciation compensating and relaxing. "That'll only embolden them, you know that."

The red-hair chuckled gruffly. "You aren't any use to me dead in a hospital cot. How do I know they didn't have a back-up plan set up with some doctor or another?" Somebody knocked on the door, the Hussar turning around and screaming, "Fuck off!" then turning back to the wounded man. "This place is the safest one yet, aside from the National Convention." Another dry chuckle. "Then again, it seems like the Convention lost the title."

"Maybeeee, mayyyyybeeeee..." A small amount of strength began returning to him, his mind beginning to whir with activity again. This clearly was a powerplay on Heinkel's side. The militarists just gained a huge amount of competence points within the people. Subaru grumbled painfully. There was not going to be much rest for him when it came to managing this new disbalance. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days. The whole Republic's been on its toes, the Vollachians even started celebrating your death, but I suppose your reappearance should fix that fucking mess." The Hussar looked better than ever, clearly invigorated by the instability. For once, his red-and-black uniform was clean and neatly pressed. The man bloomed in crisis. _'If one were to remove his flask of drink, he'd look half capable.'_

"And the assassin?" Subaru tried to sit up, grabbing onto his bandaged side as his torso exploded with burning pain, as if molten lead was poured into his chest cavity. Heinkel didn't move a millimetre, clearly uninterested in helping the President get up.

"Oh yeah, the Demi-Beast." Heinkel sneered and gulped out of his flask. Subaru frowned at the derogatory term, but the searing pain ensured that he was too preoccupied to express his distaste. "She was a tough nut to crack, had the training of a soldier, but we got it out of her anyways. Our old friend-"

"Felix..." Natsuki growled, finally managing to sit up and put his feet on the floor.

"Exactly. Bastard's got the northern Demi-Beasts riled all the way up. We were thinking about leading the Guard in there to stabilize the region if you didn't wake up." Heinkel responded disappointedly as if Subaru's waking up ruined a very important date for him.

"Can't say I am surprised." Natsuki inspected his bandaged, messed up torso, a dark red stain right over his heart and sighed. 

"The bitch must have put some curse over it, the musket ball started moving around in your body, almost ripped your internal organs apart. The only thing that saved you was that it got stuck in-between your ribs." Heinkel spat and drank another huge gulp from his flask.

"Insanity, utter insanity..." Using the bed frame for support, Subaru stood up and pushed off it, slowly stabilising his stance, vertigo beginning to fade away as the young man slowly restored his facilities. "Oh yeah, have you seen my powder?" 

Heinkel tossed him the small box, Subaru barely catching it from mid-air, his reflexes still on the down. "You really still use that shit?" The Hussar asked with a slight note of disgust in his voice.

"Not much of a choice. After all, even with the gate treatment way-back-when, I still can't retain my mana." The revolutionary opened the box, putting a finger inside and then spreading the white powder over his gums, a surge of energy rising through him, from head to toe. "And hearing of substance abuse from you is quite an entertaining sight."

Heinkel scrunched up his face, also getting up from his simple wooden stool, probably the best seating this converted hospital could offer. "Well, whatever makes a soldier march." He grumbled to the side.

The revolutionary smiled, looked around and reached for the shirt, carmagnole jacket and pants that were lying on the bed next to his. "Exactly. And thank you for the clothes."

"Yes, don't mention i-" There was another, this time louder knock on the door, rage burning on Heinkel's face from the disturbance. Turning around, he stomped to the door, throwing it open and grabbing a Guard by the lapels. "What do you want!? Don't you see the President woke up!?"

The young officer looked like he was about to faint from the raging marshall, "S-sir... i-it's the prisoner..."

"AND WHAT OF HER!?" Subaru felt a little bit of pity for the guard. Getting a face-full of spit and alcohol breath must be quiet a 'reward' for bringing in bad news.

"Sh-she's d-dead..."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subaru took a couple of steps into the well-lit room, the smell of rancid rot hitting his nostrils near instantly. Even with its ripped out decor, the wood walls and floor were always clean, which made the scene before him contrast even more, especially with the huge windows of what probably was a royal's reading room letting in all the light possible to observe the corpse. 

The Demi-Human was severely beaten, that was clear from her black and blue spots covering her face, broken leg, and ripped clothes. The officers clearly made her suffer. Subaru felt a mild cold run through his veins. Is that how they treated their criminals? 

  
Even worse, was the mess that was made from her half-dried blood. Her mouth and lips were covered in it. So was the floor, the chair she was sitting on, her lap, her shirt. Red flooded her being, she was scarlet incarnate, swallowed by that very colour.

  
"Fuck." Heinkel entered after him, trailed by the anxious officer, who tried his hardest to keep up and make as least noise possible. "Did she bite her tongue off?" The Hussar's question wasn't directed at anyone, more a search for a consensus.

  
Subaru carefully stepped up to her face and using his left thumb and index finger pushed apart her jaws. Unmistakably, her tongue was a bloody mess in her mouth, making it seem as if the red flooded out of her insides. 

  
"Yes, it seems so." Subaru pronounced gravely as he bent over to look into her face closer, observing her cadaver. "She most likely wanted to..." He took a second pondering why would she do such a thing. It really made no sense, in practical terms. "She DID tell you everything, right?" 

  
"Yes, we got all we wanted. Weapon suppliers, informants, whoever let her into the building, the ones who plotted the whole thing, my boys are already on the prowl." Heinkel also walked up to the cadaver, though unlike Subaru, he was much less careful, grabbing the corpse's jaw, and pulling it down, nearly throwing the cadaver to the ground, "She gave it all, even if not instantly." He let go, taking a step back.

Subaru nodded and also took a step back, "Then I suppose she had nowhere to return to. A choice between her angry allies and the Razor would definitely force her to decide that there was no choice." Yet something still was nudging at the back of his mind. "I suppose she was bleeding out all the time, so wouldn't she give out some noise when she did it? A struggle of some sort?" 

  
Heinkel shook his head grimly and took a sip from his flask, "She was a fucking soldier. They probably trained her to end it if she got caught, so the whole process would go unnoticed." 

  
"Hm." Subaru straightened out his jacket's creases reflexively, his eyes staring on at the cadaver. "I suppose it matters none. We got what we needed, she just racked up our cleaning bill." Turning on his heel, he nodded to the officer who up to now hid away in the corner, looking in awe and terror at the two of the strongest political leaders in Lugnica. "I suppose you will clean the mess, won't you?" 

  
The office nodded jerkily, pushing himself even further into the corner as if trying to disappear. "Y-yes, sir." 

_'These soldiers aren't nervous, like the Capital's Revolutionary Guard. By this point, most of them start speaking more casually.'_

Subaru trailed the officer's nervous gaze to Heinkel, who stood behind Subaru's shoulder, taking more sips out of his flask. The soldier, noticing Subaru's observation instantly looked down to his shoes, clearly terrified.

  
_'So that's how he keeps order in the army. Then again, what do I know about discipline in an actual one.'_

"Alright then. See to it." Subaru responded calmingly, before walking out of the door, into the wood corridors of the installation.

  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
The halls reminded him of Roswaal Manor, but much more baren and utilitarian. Wooden boxes of smoothbores and rifles stood by the walls, the wooden hoops over the windows that used to hold the curtains now stood as dusty reminders of this Armoury's debauched past. Many of the walls were painted clear white, covering over the colourful wallpapers.

A rare military bureaucrat or officer would walk by the two men, Subaru's back straightening, but as soon they were out of sight, he would stop and put his weight against the wall, giving a few laboured breaths. The bullet may have been gone from in-between his ribs, but his wounds would still disturb him, a scorching mark on his chest. Heinkel simply stopped when he did and continued when Subaru regained his strength, not commenting on the revolutionary's state, instead preferring to make it seem he didn't notice.

For that, Subaru was thankful. Nothing would annoy him as much as empathy right now. He needed to get to the exit, back to the Convention, back to work. Lugnica didn't stand in wait while he laid in bed, its gears turned and twisted while he, the foreman of the Revolution, didn't stand guard over it. A sudden bout of despair overtook him as he stopped yet again, maybe for the fifth time by this point.

_'How can the nation survive beyond me, if it begins falling into chaos as soon as I am away?'_

He shook his head away purging the thought. The nation was young. There was no institution that he can make in the measly time he has had to make it stick together, these are growing pains, they shall pass. Or at least, he hoped they would. However, he had to make sure to keep the unrest down until he could create them. His mind suddenly pinpointed a fact he nearly missed in his drowsy state mere minutes ago.

"Heinkel..." Natsuki pronounced breathlessly, doubled over against the wall.

"Hm?" The Hussar seemed to snap out of his own thoughts as if just noticing Natsuki's state. "What is it?"

"You said the Northern Demi-Humans were riled up, correct?" Subaru slowly straightened out.

"Yes, we've been keeping several mili-"

"I wanna talk to them..." Subaru's phrase hung in the air, an uncomfortable request.

"In your state, it's not advisable, what if they-"

"Heinkel, I arrive there, bring a couple of militiamen with me, we talk, I may be able to sort this out." Subaru reasoned, urgency growing in his voice. "You remember the White Knights during the March? If I could do that, what's impossible at this point? And it's not like the problem of rebellion will go away by itself, and marching the troops is not an option considering that Felix wants to make himself look like a martyr."

"They're killers, every single one of those beasts, and you want to talk to them right after you got a bullet in your ribs?" The Hussar responded with disappointed surprise, his hand impulsively reaching for the flask.

"Well, if nothing else, an appearance as such won't be too bad for my image," Subaru grunted, putting his weight against the wall with his shoulder. "The president of the new republic stands tall, even when the forces of oppression feebly try to harm him or somesuch." 

"But still..." The Hussar gulped from the flask. "You are not in a state-"

"Just imagine, the Militarists and The President, taking down the rebellion without a single shot fired."

Heinkel grumbled something but nodded, "This is... very well... My officers will get you a carriage." Heinkel turned around, lumbering away and muttering something to himself. Subaru's expression grew weary. Betting on a show of strength and competence really seemed to always get Heinkel interested, even if Subaru would make sure that not a single militarist would be mentioned in the after-action reports published in the papers. However, he didn't know what Heinkel would think of his _actual_ plan. Or rather, what Heinkel would do when Natsuki hung the _blame_ on him.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rumble of the carriage coming driving over another bump finally awoken Subaru, who removed the notebook that covered his eyes off of his face. The illustration he had created on the pages during the multi-hour journey sat on his lap, a rough sketch of the Lugnican border, and several lines passing through it, interconnecting and meshing together. He smiled and put the book away into his inner pocket. If he were able to keep this country his, he'd probably be one of the first to master the idea of country-wide infrastructure, the train system.

While his old documents didn't have enough on steam-powered vehicles, he had enough understanding of the mechanisms to get a working one, maybe in several years. 

He shook away the daydream of an interconnected Lugnica. For now, it was carriages and great hours of boredom. He looked up at the two militiamen sitting across him.

The first, an older grey-haired bandit type, nodded to him, a grim look spread over his bearded face. The second, a younger man with a glint in his eyes repeated the motion, though his unevenness betrayed his either excited or anxious disposition towards their arrival.

The revolutionary looked out of the window and felt relieved to see the cracked streets of Ganaks pass by the window, the long ride finally soon coming to an end. The city was much less revolutionary in its nature, as the flood of escaping Demi slaves from Kararagi made it hard to establish a roughened revolutionary core in the streets. Of course, it was under the Convention's command, but it didn't mean that it supported it fully. The ex-slaves were not at all thankful for their newfound freedom, instead only interested in establishing the city and the surrounding zones as autonomous, for their supposed safety.

_'The nerve of some of them.'_

Though one thing surely fascinated him: the strength of the people who got here. Or was it desperation? The waters of Priestella were partially patrolled by slaver vessels, Tigracy's flooded streets were filled by prowling slave-catchers, the wilderness of Gusteko froze and maimed all those who tried to pass it, but these men and women, the old and the children, the experienced and the green, all of them still tried and continued to run into Lugnica's welcoming embrace.

And the slave-catchers who tried to sneak into the city? Subaru decided to allow himself a small smile as they passed a hanging body, the mercenary clothes and the wooden sign reading 'KARaRaGiAn slAVeR pIG' hung over its neck easily determining the cadaver's past employment.

But even a guest who wants to become a tenant must have some sense of how much is being given to them. The tired and the desperate easily fell to the radicalization of the Independent Territories, Felix never missing an opportunity to be a splinter in Lugnica's side, learning from Subaru's populism, turning it into Demi supremacism, a potent and explosive mix.

And now, here he was, to clean up another one of these little events, at least officially. The carriage rumbled to a stop. The younger militiaman reached for the door, pushing it open and stepping out, and letting Subaru get out, followed by the grey soldier.

The revolutionary's shoes landed on the paved street, and he carefully assessed the streets around him. Unlike the Capital, the houses were made of darker igneous stone of the quarries, the whole city looking darker and greyer because of it, not helped by the humid weather, as the cold fronts from Gusteko reached the more temperate Lugnican lands as heavy showers, with the whole city being under rain clouds three hundred days a year. There was also much fewer passers-by, as most of the city lived by the clock on top of the quarries, men and women shuffling to and fro between their homes and the mines.

This, of course, ended with the recent riots, or so he was told. The streets were deserted as many of those who rioted now hid in the buildings and stayed out of the ruined alleyways, using whatever they could loot.

One such place still held many of the people who preferred to destroy than to build, the very place that Subaru stood in front of. The Red Ringer was an inn that Subaru knew too well, after all, rebelliousness tends to be rather uncreative in its active phase. With a sigh, followed by the two militiamen, the revolutionary pushed open the door of the inn, entering.

Whatever noise could be heard outside before Subaru entered instantly dissipated, turning into surprise, as the crowd of gathered Demi-Humans stared back at the evil gaze of the President, unconsciously parting towards the table at the back of the inn. Natsuki scanned the crowd, each rugged face, making sure that he saw none that he couldn't recognise. Not a single innocent soul sitting at a table. This would make it much easier on his conscious, but he needed to make sure that Heinkel's party stayed as a lowly image in the public eye.

THIS was the Independent Territory hide-out, as much a place to hide, as the moon was for sunbathing. While Felix stood as its shadow counsellor, ensuring that the fanaticism didn't drop too low, the face of the organisation was-

"Natsuki Subaru!" The half demi-human at the central table stood up as he roared the President's name, his hand on the dagger on his hip.

"Hayden Garo, well-met." On the opposite end, Subaru stayed relaxed, taking a couple of steps forward, the crowd parting before him. "It has been a while, has it not?"

The lion demi ruffled his blonde hair as if trying to vent his rage, putting his other hand on the table, as if ready to leap over and attack. "WHAT ARE YOU HUMAN SCUM DOING HERE?" 

"Woah, woah, we're here to negotiate." Subaru lied calmly, but put up his hands, signifying he had no weapons. "I heard that you were causing unrest in the city, and I supposed we could negotiate. Furthermore, I wanted to ask you why you sent that little beast to shoot me."

There was a murmur in the crowd, an angry mob beginning to form around the leader's rage. "What FUCKING demi are you talking about?" Hayden put down his other hand on the table, leaning forward. "And you think I'D want to negotiate with scum like you?"

Subaru sighed, stepping forward and taking a seat at the table, trying to keep his nerve not to bite back at the insults the supremacist was throwing him, let alone not mentioning the man's half-human heritage. Not yet at least. "I came here with an offer of partial disarmament-"

Roaring laughter burst out in the crowd, Hayden's rage becoming stronger. "PARTIAL DISARMAMENT! WE'LL SLAUGHTER EVER BASTA-"

Subaru's cold voice cut through Hayden's rage, silencing him and the crowd near-instantly. "Listen to the terms. Stop acting deluded, you aren't. I can order the militias to march in and flood the streets in your fanatic blood. You WILL NOT win. You DO NOT have the manpower OR the weapons OR the tactical know-how. You WILL die. What I propose right now is beneficial to us both. I will not take all your weapons so your community can defend itself, however, the city stays under Republican control." Subaru put down a piece of paper with the simple terms on them.

"This the first and last offer I give you. While I tolerated these actions up until now, this ends today." Subaru stood up, his height compared to the demi making him seem smaller, but his attitude dwarfing all of the people in the room. An all-or-nothing offer, pushing them to the edge. 

"Disarm NOW, or face the consequences." Subaru knew what would happen next, his hand snaking for his powder, the greyhaired militiaman behind him arming his musket. 'Negotiations' were never the goal. Right now he was about to make sure the militarists were dragged through the mud.

"Guess it's live a human's bitch or die free, huh?" Hayden growled, his hand reaching back for the blade. "You know my ans-" 

**WHISH**

There were screams in the crowd as the leader's head exploded into bits, the body dropping to the floor.

Natsuki Subaru, the Rose Revolutionary, stood across from the body as he took out two bloodied fingers from his mouth, the nails snapped on both of them and poured out the whole powder case into his mouth.

"Then we go with the second option..." 

A choir of shots rang out on the streets of Ganaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both." Niccolo Machiavelli


	10. Quick Update (Sorry, not a chapter)

Hello people, TGWSO here.

The few of you who do read this little fanfic I have made are prolly a little confused over why I haven't updated in a week or so, as I usually do it about 1-2 times a week. Just a heads up, I've come upon a rough patch in my personal life, so the updates will come slower, as I kinda have to sort some stuff out. This isn't a cancellation or a hiatus, but a temporary slow down. Subaru and the Revolution shall keep marching on, simply not as fast as they used to before.

Sorry for all the trouble, 

Yours,

TGSWO


	11. The Answer

The student was unsure of how to feel beyond vertigo, nausea of revival and unending frustration. He had followed through with the negotiation, he had done it all, he had done everything near-perfectly...

BUT THEN THE DAMN SMELL OF HIS EMOTIONS GOT IN THE WAY!

How does one turn off all of their sense to disallow such an attack on privacy? How is it even possible to keep secrets in this world?

The student straightened out, allowing more air into his lungs, vertigo passing almost by the second. His body had become slightly more accustomed to the deranged roulette that was his life, but it still came with some resistance, a thought that comforted Subaru. He wasn't used to this, this wasn't normal, he could still go back.

Picking up his book bag, Subaru looked around the square, admiring the view and thinking through what he could do next. Negotiations were clearly pointless, the purple-eyed murderer did not think even for a single moment before turning on him, and while he could put up a good face, there was nothing he could do about his own emotions, even the thought of the sensual look she gave him causing a torrent of ice-cold spite to collide with burning rage.

An attempt to take it with force would also be a pointless affair, with Felt being too fast for him to catch or to fight, and with purple-eyed bitch being simply too dangerous to even engage in a conversation. However, reason would not succeed here, clearly. Considering that he arrived right on point of Satella's loss of the insignia, he wouldn't be able to warn her here.

"Zugzwang..." Subaru sighed and sat down on the cobblestone, looking at the passing carriages and the market stalls, allowing his mind to wander further, looking for inspiration. This world... 

It took him a second to wonder what he had witnessed in the last, what, three deaths? Destitution, political puppetry, desperation, unending poverty, the backwardness of every kind. At first, it was pity, pity for the puppeteered noble, the unwashed peasant, the child thief. Now he felt frustration. These people didn't seem to care... Why? They were hundreds, nay, thousands more numerous than their rulers, rulers who didn't seem to care for them at all as they played their political games. 

He shook the thought away. Well, what did he care himself? After all, first chance, he was getting out of this hellhole himself. Let 'em rot under the boot if they so want to.

Inspirations struck him suddenly as his eyes trailed one of the guards standing next to a vegetable stand. How foolish! Of course, the authorities! And with his clothes, they would at least listen to him, considering they would probably not care much for a peasant. And anyways, the request wouldn't be too out of the ordinary, just another citizen reporting some very high-profile criminal activity. 

He stopped. But then how should he explain the high-level assassin and the extremely important jewel? He shook his head, standing up, determination pushing out all the worry. In the end, he just had to make a distraction, enough for him to grab that insignia, and the guards would be the exact shield he'd need to get away. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Name?" The grey-haired archivist asked in a bored tone as she flipped through the mountains of paper.

"Uh... Natsuki Subaru." The student responded, unsure of what the point of this exercise was.

The old woman put the first stack of paper away, before looking through another one, and then another one, Natsuki getting impatient, his fidgeting getting worse by the second. 

"Excuse me?" Subaru attempted his best to hide the impatience building up within him. "I came here to report a crime, and I answered the question, what shou-"

"Have you got a meeting with a guard representative?" The archivist responded tiredly, as she sorted another stack of papers, still keeping her eyes off of Subaru.

"No, bu-"

"Well, then why are you at the Royal Guard Headquarters? Fuck off!" This time the archivist slightly raised her voice, but it still sounded like mumbling, the change almost unnoticeable. 

The student's face turned red, his lips turning into a thin line. "Excuse me?" The question felt strung up as if the tension within Natsuki was about to break any second. 

"I haven't heard of a single 'Natsuki' lineage or a 'Subaru' at that. Go back to your trader's caravan and get your hired guard to find whatever you got stolen off of you, or if you're a peasant, then return the clothes you've stolen and hand yourself in to the Guard." The archivist's prune-like face contorted into mild annoyance, her eyebrows dropping as she looked at him from behind a stack of papers.

Natsuki's mouth dropped at the response, before quickly shutting and gearing to respond, "I'm here to report a crime and y-"

"Well, why didn't you report it to the nearest guard?" The hag responded, also seemingly losing her patience.

"Because they sent me here!" Natsuki also raised his voice. Many would have probably resigned themselves to fate, but he really didn't have any other option, this desperation driving him even further into a helpless rage.

"Oh..." The archivist went quiet for a second before snickering. "So they've done the old 'check at the Headquarters' schtick again." 

It took Subaru all of his mental strength to not scream of helpless rage and silent panic. At best, he had only an hour left before the murderer would arrive, and he still had to get whatever help he scramble together to the outskirts, and this rotten hag held all the cards for his future.

The archivist, now quickly losing interest in the student, returned to her papers, mouthing off a final verdict. "Well, you're outta luck. Get ou-"

There was a slam of the door, both the official and Subaru looking in the direction of the sound, the prune's eyes turning into annoyed slits.

"Well look who came out of his hole again!" The archivist shouted at the figure emerging from the door leading further into the bowels of the Royal Guard headquarters, "What! Finally decided to do yer job!"

Subaru observed the new arrival, but before he could say anything, he was hit with the heavy musty smell of hangover breath, even though he was meters away. His stomach lurched, but he kept himself calm. This wasn't home anymore.

The newly arrived man, red-haired and dishevelled and covered in what looked like medieval light combat armour, rubbed his eyes and then covered his ears as the archivist continued her verbal onslaught, "WILL YOU BITCH SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY! I CAN'T HEAR MY FUCKING THOUGHTS!"

"Aye, you can't! Look at you! Where's the pride of the Royal Guard! Where's the shining example! HUH!?" The old woman also raised her voice, though unlike the red hair's inconsistent enraged mumbling, the woman's retort felt much more... poignant.

The red hair stomped to the table, smashing his gloved fists on the papers, the sword on his hip clanging menacingly against the cabriole, "What do you want me to do to shut you the fuck up!"

"Get your sorry ass together and do your goddamn job for once, Vice Captain!" The old woman also stood up, nailing the supposed Vice Captain with her gaze, "You could start with that young man over there! He's got something to report! Why don't you make yourself useful!" She pointed at Subaru so aggressively, that the young man took a couple of steps back, as to be sure that the point wouldn't vaporize him.

The Vice Captain turned around, inspecting the student with an unseeing glare. Subaru, still unsure of how to react, nodded silently, making sure to not shrink away from the uncomfortable scrutiny he was receiving.

The man grumbled and nodded back, "Fine..." He rubbed his face again, "But don't scream next time, you hag, I think my head's about to blow up." 

"Well, maybe that'll make you do your damn job, for once." The old woman plopped back into her wooden seat, "Now get out, you stink up the whole place, and take that boy with you, I don't want any more disturbances until I get all the paper you messed up back together."

With an affirmative yet annoyed grunt, the man turned around, and passed Subaru, grabbing him by the shirt collar. The student gave out a small chocked noise but was too surprised to resist as the supposed Vice Captain unceremoniously dragged him outside.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
"Heinkel Astrea... huh..."

"Never met any peasant who has not heard of my bloodline. You must be from not around here." Heinkel rubbed his temples, clearly more focused on the headache banging on his skull rather than the curious case of someone not knowing a piece of widespread information, though Subaru decided that, in the end, that could be considered a blessing in disguise.

The two continued walking down the same old street of the outskirts, the sun disappearing behind the hovels, as Subaru, yet again approached the abandoned inn. The lights were already lit, and with some squinting, he could make out a couple of outlines, a tall mountain of grey, sitting next to a thin shadow, both across from the medium outline of... 

"Purple-eyes..." Subaru pronounced unconsciously, unable to stop the dripping venom in his voice.

"So, why in the damn are we doing this?" The knight also stopped, eyeing up the house, "After all, you still didn't report any crime." 

Subaru maintained eye contact with the window, tracking the movements of the silhouettes, as the sun set and the lights and shadows from the inside of the houses became more prominent. "A certain thief has stolen an insignia off of a certain dame of very high social status. As she probably didn't go to the Royal Guard herself, I decided to do so, as I recognised the thief and her hiding spot. All I need to do is make sure to return that insignia."

The Vice Captain's voice turned to exhaustion, "Couldn't you just buy it off?"

Subaru put the bag on the floor, stretched his arms and then pointed at one of the first-floor windows. "I suppose the assassin in there will let me walk away as well." He responded sarcastically.

"Assassin?" Unlike Subaru, Heinkel put his weight against the wall as he continued to rub his temples, "And which one would that be?" He asked, clearly lacking any belief in a supposed assassin.

"Ever heard of Elsa Granhiert?" Subaru stopped stretching and took off his jacket, getting ready for some rigorous 'excercise' considering the escape that would probably ensue.

"You're telling me that we're going to have to face off the Bowel Hunter?" Heinkel's voice, which up to now sounded more like annoyed moaning and grunting, suddenly became laser-focused and clear, his squinted eyes opening widely, any signs of the hangover evaporating with the phrase. "That will cost you..."

Subaru felt that his words have added gravity to the situation but decided to maintain honesty, "I don't know what her nickname is, or how infamous she is, but she clearly was hired to get that insignia for some nefarious causes." His mind quickly searched for a further backing up of his claims. "I even tracked her with my metia." He flipped out the phone, showing the Vice Captain some quickly typed gibberish in Japanese, "Look, she's clearly here."

The Vice Captain's eyes moved around the screen, clearly unsure of what he was looking at, before glazing over with faux confidence. He nodded and pushed off of the wall, standing straight, his hand unclipping the sword off of his belt. "I see. Then how will you pay me?"

"Pardon?" Subaru was not unready for such a turn of events, but it still felt strange NOT to be surprised at such sheer corruption.

"How will you pay me to handle that mess, let alone if I can..." Heinkel's phrase was stopped short as Subaru bent over and grabbed the museum guide out of his bookbag, showing it to Heinkel.

"This little art collection costs around 60 holy coins, and that's not talking about prices from actual art dealers." The student pronounced self-assuredly, "This is my payment." 

Heinkel took the book, examining it in his hands, before chuckling, "And how am I supposed to kn-"

**CRASH!**

The two men turned around, Subaru taking the closest thing he knew to a fighting stance, while Heinkel unsheathed his sword in a lightning motion, his eyes darting left and right in search of the enemy. There was none. The only thing that fell out of the window was-

"Grom..." Subaru whispered as he recognized the gruesome remains, blood slowly leaking into the dusty earth underneath it.

There was a clack of shoes as a set of purple eyes emerged from the now-darkened doorway, seemingly staring in all directions at the same time. 

"And Felt..." He pronounced near-automatically, under his breath, as he noticed the small frame of the thiefling being dragged out of the inn and thrown forward, the matted blonde hair covered in blood.

"Oh my, oh my." The murderer pronounced in a sugary voice, "I see we have two more contestants." 

Heinkel growled, "In the name of the Royal Guard, I come here to apprehend you."

Elsa gave a smile, before disappearing. Subaru blinked, before noticing the speeding shadow approaching Heinkel. "YOUR RIGHT!"

The Vice Captain reacted as well as one could, the clash of the kukri and the sword sending sparks flying into the dark. The assassin slid past him, clouds of dust billowing up from the current of air she created, ending her mad rush by standing straight up, looking over her first opponent self-indulgently.

Heinkel grabbed onto his side, putting his weight on the sword and grunting, as a crimson patch appeared on his hip. "Damn..." The student's jaw dropped before his mind noted the glint, previously unseen, in Elsa's hand.

"Oh my, oh my, this really will be entertaining." The murderer lifted up her hidden second blade to her lips, giving a slight taste of the blood. "You were even able to dodge my little trick. But I suppose that it is time to let you sleep." Elsa's posture changed back to her pouncing position. There was going to be another mad rush at Heinkel, one he wouldn't survive.

In this split-second moment, Natsuki Subaru calculated. He also noticed the second glint, the one on the assassin's neck. The insignia. His fist tightened. No point escaping, he needed that insignia. He looked at Heinkel. And he needed to buy time.

Grabbing his jacket, Natsuki charged forward, insanely, blindly and on a gamble. Elsa smiled. Another one for the slaughter. She changed her course to meet the sprinting student.

Natsuki's mind calculated. 50 metres. He pushed his lungs to the maximum. 40 meters. He could see the cold violet in her eyes. 30 meters.

_"God, Buddha, Allah, whoever, please just let me-"_

20 meters. 

He let go of an end of his jacket allowing it to flap freely like a banner as he sped towards the end.

10 meters.

Elsa readied her blade.

Contact.

Elsa sliced threw the jacket thrown at her and sliced again at the air just behind it, where Subaru was just seconds ago, carried by his momentum. The next thing she never expected. Something hit her under the chin with terrible strength.

The world darkened for a second for Elsa Granhiert, as the momentary concussion passed and she looked around. 

Natsuki Subaru, with a cut open right arm, bloodied, beaten, but alive, stood behind her. The insignia that Elsa was sure was hooked to her cloak mere seconds ago, was now in the student's bloodied hand, glowing intensely.

Elsa licked her lips, "Now this is getting VERY curious..."

Natsuki Subaru continued to breathe heavily, trying not to begin to panic at the opened top of his arm and broken finger from the terribly placed punch. The bet paid off, not without losses, but it did. He turned around to make sure to keep the gaze on Elsa.

The purple-eyed monster was already ready to charge again, her pupils focused on the deep red glow in Subaru's hand. The student felt his stomach sink, but his heart roar into action, his brain ticking off the possibilities. He wouldn't be able to pull off another deranged onslaught like that.

_"NO NO, THERE MUST BE A WAY."_

He couldn't see Heinkel... The bastard must have run off...

_"DAMN!!!"_

He gritted his teeth and took a combat stance. No matter how hopeless this was, no matter what this shitty world threw at him, he wouldn't just let death take him. No, he would be dragged kicking and screaming into that good long night.

Elsa began her next charge. Subaru tightened his fists, the insignia pulsing in his haemorrhaging arm. There shall be no next cycle, no next attempt. This is it. Don't shut your eyes, for the next eyes won't be your own.

As she cut the final distance he let out an inhuman roar and took his last swing-

**BLAM!**

Both the assassin and the student flew back in opposite directions, the very air between them exploding. 

Natsuki rubbed the dirt and blood out of his eyes, dragging himself up through sheer power of will, ignoring the ringing in his ears and observed the new arrivals. 

It was the white-haired half-elf, her finger pointing in the direction of the explosion. There was also the red-haired commander, the spot of crimson on his armour seeming to not bother him a single bit anymore, his sword raised in a practised motion.

Elsa, who also seemed shaken by the explosion, picked herself up. Blinking several times, her face for the first time showed a form of emotion: a slightly annoyed disgust. Without a word, the assassin dashed forward, countered by Heinkel's blade, as two sparks came out this time, the Vice-Captain having learnt the lesson of his first attempt to defend against a double-wielding opponent. Emilia shouted something, another explosion resonating. But it was becoming too grainy, too distant. Subaru began to feel light-headed as the blood kept pouring out of his arm.

The fight washed away for Subaru, as his brain began to shut off, each movement becoming heavier and heavier. The fight, the insignia, it didn't matter. A question he has locked away in his brain, for the time being, had unchained itself.

_"W H O?"_

Who was the one who caused this? All of this? EVERYTHING? He looked over at the bodies by the inn, noticing the blonde one. A sequence began to build in his mind, one which he could not completely comprehend, as it seemed to build on things he yet understood, or rather, yet to have understood consciously. Someone was whispering in his ear as death snuck closer.

_"SHE HAS THE ANSWERS."_

His blood-deficient mind formulated that simple conclusion as he trudged mindlessly a couple of metres to the body and dropped to his knees, taking the thief's blonde head in his hands. The fighting behind him was far away. But something, someone, all of it, it said that this thief was important, there was no reason he knew now, but it made sense. The insignia's glow turned into bright light as it touched the matted hair. He lifted his hand over her face.

_"A BREEZE..."_

She was breathing. 

_"SHE MUST LIVE."_

On some unconscious level of his mind, he understood that there was importance, an infinite amount, that this playing piece stayed on the board... With all his remaining strength, he lifted the body of the thief and turned around to look.

_"SOMEONE MUST HELP."_

He gave out a mournful growling call for someone to come. His vision was blurry now, but a blob of red and white approached him, both of them speaking things he couldn't understand, things that were pointless in the right now.

_"THAT'S THE HELP."_

"You MUST help..." He breathed out and felt the body of the thief be lifted off of his arms. "She has no answers." He formulated another sentence and threw it into oblivion off of his dried and metal-scented lips.

_"BECAUSE SHE IS THE ANSWER, TO A QUESTION THAT EVERYONE ALREADY STOPPED ASKING."_

The student felt the world turn, and the ground hit him in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably one of my longer chapters. Also, the first full combat scene, yay! Aside from that, this is the end of Arc 1 for Newbie Subaru, meanwhile his Revolutionary counterpart is still managing in the future.
> 
> As always, leave some criticism/advice in the comments, especially with the fight scene that occurred, as I am not used to writing action. Thanks!


	12. The Voice

"I want to leave with my brother."

"Diplomacy, Julius, is an art." Subaru checked over his bandaged fingertips that he bit through just a couple of days ago, the flesh healing slowly. "You can't simply rush it. And besides, as we both know what we want from eachother-"

Julius's face morphed into disgust, and he crossed his hands over his chest "Unlike you, I am not dishonourable enough to join forces with the enemies of the Lugnican people."

"And yet, you took their weapons, financial support, professional casters, officers, and diplomatic connections when we forced you underground. Funny how that works." Subaru sat back in the creaking chair, giving out a long sigh and rubbing his side, the bullet hole still healing.

"Do not moralize me, traitor." Julius spat out, "You have not been any better, otherwise your farce would have been torn out at the root the very second the Royal Guard heard of your rotten movement." 

Unlike Julius, Natsuki maintained a cold facade, clearly more interested in the newspaper he brought along to the negotiation of release, rather than the man himself. While on a normal day, such a lax approach and over-aggressiveness on his side would probably make him reconsider even continuing the negotiation without first actually thinking through how much damage he was causing, negotiations with Julius had the pleasant undertone of hostile familiarity. The two knew each other and knew that in the end all their pointless spitting and insulting would not result in one trying to lock the other out.

"I never claimed to be making a clean, honourable fight, unlike you. And besides, you would probably have to bribe half the Royal Guard just to lift a single finger to deal with peasants, let alone reassuring them." Subaru stretched and looked over the headlines again.

The Mining Massacre, as it was crowned by the newspapers, had an amazing calibrating effect. The operation was considered solely militarist-led, and his name was not even mentioned once, Heinkel's climb to domination halted before he could even begin it. Further, the aggressors were considered to be the Independents, making this seem like a defensive manoeuvre, even if overly forceful.

Julius grumbled, the Rose March searing at his memories. No matter how he wanted to counter Subaru's statement, the March had really put a hole in the Guard's name. 

"And I will be honest with you, Julius, you doing this now will just make it easier on all of us." Subaru stood up to stretch his legs and took out his powder case. "If you don't, we'll capture Felix, and we will be doing that whether you give me that confession or not. Unlike you, he has no cards left to play." The revolutionary took some dust and put some on his gums, shutting the dust case with a sharp click. "So honestly, you either stay in a cell or not, I still get what I want. But you can either sweeten your own deal, or we keep you locked in a very small room until the end of days."

Julius looked away, his arms still crossed. Subaru huffed, "And trust me, considering that spirits can't survive within an industrial landscape, you aren't getting yourself a free escape with some spark flying into your cell by accident." 

"I will not leave without my brother." Julius's tone, even after days of beatings and meagre food, hadn't lost its high-brow force. "I shall not leave him to suffer."

Subaru sighed. "Then how about this." He sat back down and put his hands on the table, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Joshua gets to live within the National Convention, one of the top floors. Yeah, he's got guards, but he lives better than most of the common men, you get to contact him by letter. Aside from that, while he stays with us, he isn't going to be treated the same as I treated you, hm?"

"From force to coaxing," Julius responded, his brow furrowed. "You are even lower than I thought you were." 

"Yes, because applying excessive force to people who clearly wanted to apply excessive force to you is a very healthy way to remedy your grudges, look how good our conversation is going right now." Subaru joked in an annoyed manner. 

"Neither you nor I want to see each other again, let alone in such close proximity, but I can't release you without assurance that you will do something stupid, and while I may be a progressive and understanding person, swearing on your rank of Knight of a government that doesn't exist anymore does NOT fill me with reassurance." Subaru pronounced, staring into Julius's eyes. "And believe me, if I don't see us agreeing to something real soon, the offer may be completely withdrawn." 

Julius turned his head away stoically and stayed silent. Subaru kept the silence, slowly letting the pressure get to the Knight. Both of them knew what awaited Julius if they didn't agree. Long cold nights in the isolator, constant security control and possible execution in the very long-term. Of course, that's what Subaru made sure was spoken about among his guard, convenient 'information leaks' happening as they were on their way to their posts, snippets of conversation and such.

After all, he couldn't just simply admit that he wasn't sure of what he was supposed to do with the overpowered, constantly escape-attempting knight. And he sure as all Hell had no way to keep him on a short leash either, besides his brother of course.

But... he also didn't need to rush, yet. "Alright, I shall leave you to your thoughts, my dear friend. We shall continue this discussion soon." Subaru stood up and turned around to knock on the door to make the guards let him out. To his satisfaction, in the middle of the sound of his knocks, when Subaru was unlikely to hear it, he could just make out a faint barely-contained sigh of relief come out of the knight.

In the end, no person is unbreakable.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The document had progressed a little after his run-ins, though writing for so long into the night was making it hard on him to stay awake. It seemed that combat really did clear the mind and the 'Subarean Code' had progressed very rapidly from drafts to around a hundred pages already, as Subaru copied but sometimes edited his own parts into the code. 

Some parts stayed. The abolition of the criminal charges of blasphemy and heresy (a clear jab at the Gustekans), the charges of homosexuality and sacrilege (a very round-about way to hit the Vollachians), the idea of a generally free (but controlled in crisis) market and complete abolition of slavery in ALL forms to piss off the Kararagians, while setting some of the less appetizing things to the side, specifically Napoleon's stance on female roles. 

_'Of course, for now, the change will be hard to come by, but the war should let more women into the workforce.'_ Considered Subaru as he maniacally continued to scratch on the next page. It honestly did surprise him that women were going to be the Candidates for the Throne, but soon he found that he was also correct in the assumption that they were exceptions to the usual rule. It was still better than the middle ages, he supposed, but the rights felt like something coming into the beginning of the twentieth century.

His flow of thoughts was disturbed by a triple knock, and he looked up to the door slamming open, a beast-man mercenary marching in before standing at the ready by the door. The revolutionary instantly noticed the Fang of Iron patch on his scabbard, though the Hoshin white-and-yellows were replaced with a brown and blue uniform, the sign of the Hlockard Trading Company now shining off of the disgruntled's soldier's shoulder. Subaru barely contained his satisfaction, _'Seems the masters were nice enough to let that bastard keep a souvenir from his dented past.'_

"Subaru-san!" The pleasant baritone crawled into the door, as the short dog-man rushed in. "Subaru-san! I am SO happy to have found you! Oh my days, it is TERRIBLE!"

Subaru stood up and gave a polite smile, "Hlockard! You old dog! What brings you to these parts!? And at this hour of the night?!" The chubby trader ran up to the President, hugging his stomach, as his height only allowed him to reach as much. "My days! It's TERRIBLE Subaru-san! I saw a man park their land dragon by my hotel room's window, and when my guard told them to move it due to its proximity to me, he smiled and told my guard not to worry, and that he's sure it won't get stolen!" The trader looked up at Subaru with an overdramatic gaze, only made more comedic by his Shih Tzu features.

There was a second of silence before both of them roared into laughter, neither actually laughing with heart. The mercenary silently standing next to the door visibly cringed. Hlockard von Valvida took a step back and put his paws into his wide kimono sleeves, letting his laughter go down so masterfully that it almost seemed natural. Subaru also wiped a 'tear' of laughter from the side of his eye. This small piece of theatre did set the mood for most other contractors, but Hlockard knew better than to try to use his charisma on Subaru, both of them knew the other's lack of interest in social closeness.

_'Must be a habit for him at this point.'_ Subaru thought amusedly as he sat back down and directed the beast-man to sit as well, the Shih Tzu's weight causing the wooden chair to creak painfully.

"Well, Hlockard, all I can tell you in such a position is to donate more, buy less, and make sure to collapse your business, then the people will love you for sure!" Subaru responded humorously.

"Subaru-san, you are too much! I thought about committing suicide over such a slight! Terrible! Terrible, I say! Me, such an honest trader!" Hlockard continued the theatre for a little longer but seemed to finally calm down. "Oh, and yes, I did wish to discuss with you another matter." The Shih Tzu man lifted his paw and gave out a small whistle, the beast-man guard walking out of the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible.

"A completely unrelated but very private matter, one that shouldn't be discussed in the daylight-" 

"The construction contract? I thought that you were in contact with Otto on that. Otherwise, we've paid that exorbitant price you asked of us for the food and equipment during the march." Subaru sat back, habitually checking his cracked nails. "What would you otherwise come in for?"

Hlockard put his paw back into his sleeves, and sighed, "While I do remember how dear you hold your citizens' health and happiness to your heart, Subaru-san, I belie-"

Subaru continued looking at his nails, "Hlockard, let's cut to your proposition and skip the flowery introductions, how about it?"

The Shih Tzu blinked with slight disgruntlement, but continued, "Well, my dear, it's the fact that your nation isn't... how would it be preferable to pronounce it..."

"Kararagi-attractive?" Subaru predicted what was to come out of the merchant's mouth. He also knew this conversation was about to go.

"Exactly, Subaru-san! There has been many a worrying rumour I heard, very mortifying in their very nature! About you cutting the rights of your citize-"

Natsuki rarely felt his blood boil, but made sure to contain it within himself, answering with a nonchalant, even if curious, tone, "And which ones those would be, then?" He knew already...

"Why, Subaru-san, the right of a man to buy and sell slaves, let alone the rumoured 'free citizen' doctrine you may be imposing on your populace! It's a terrible thing! Of course, a man of your honourable stature would not do such an unthinkable, if not dangerous, change." The last phrase was dripping with venom, Hlockard pressuring the 'dangerous' part.

"Hlockard, I fear that ALL the rumours you heard are true." Subaru pushed back, maintaining a hardened but calm exterior. "And I do not see how disallowing one citizen to take away the freedoms of another is an encroachment on ANYONE'S rights, besides of those who seem to profit from the free and FORCED labour." 

Hlockard seemed to mellow out a little, returning to his slight coaxing. "But Subaru-san, you do understand that those slaves are happy under u-"

"Then why come to me, Hlockard? Why come to me, like a thief in the night, to my personal study? Why not bring up the matter at the National Convention, in front of those who decide the direction of the nation by my side? If they are so happy in unpaid servitude, with the status of an object, then why are you so fearful of my ban?" Subaru stood up, putting his weight on the fists he put on his table. "After all, wouldn't they simply become unpaid employees? Why worry about your VERY happy slaves being regarded as people with a right to leave?"

The Shih Tzu let out a low growl, but chocked it out, his face returning to mellow friendliness, "Subaru-san, well, then I would have to accuse you of robbery?" 

The president scoffed. "And how so, dear Hlockard?"

"Let's just say, you have not a single time assisted us in getting our merchandise back. Now that I think about it, besides the recent little business in Ganaks, have you even once assisted the repatriation of our assets?" Hlockard couldn't help it anymore, a slight low growl escaping from his throat.

"Those who arrive here are citizens. They are not 'goods', they are not 'assets', they are citizens. What a private citizen wishes to do in my country that isn't criminal, is up to them and them only. My security forces, my militias, they keep order, but I shall not repatriate those who run from circumstances that are unfair or illiberal to them." Subaru pronounced, clearly calmed by Hlockard's rage. He was still on top, he couldn't allow his pride to make him seem weak with rage.

Hlockard looked up at Subaru, any air of friendliness having disappeared, "I hope you underst-"

"I clearly understand, my dear Hlockard. This nation is a refuge for those who have been wronged by the strong and corrupt, and most importantly for those who wish to decide their fate. Slaves don't decide their fate, their masters do. And I don't want any masters here." Subaru stood up walking to the door, opening it and giving an inviting look to Hlockard. "I believe that we have discussed all that needed to be discussed, Citizen Hlockard."

The Shih Tzu rose from his seat passing Subaru calmly, not throwing a gaze at him, but deep down Subaru knew that no reaction was even worse than an enraged one, especially from someone as influential as the ex-smuggler. He just lit a fuse, and he would have to deal with it.

_'Then again, who besides me? This was bound to happen...'_ Subaru thought as he shut the door and sat behind his desk again, looking onto the document and sighing heavily. The whole business really put him off the dry tone that such a document required. Whatever he was going to put down on paper would be too emotional for such an undertaking. Tossing aside the paper, Subaru put his head on the table and closed his eyes.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I _ov_ y__"

He was again in that dark sea, though unlike before, he was able to open his 'eyes'. Then again, what difference did it make.

"I love you..."

The hands again reached for his heart, and he slapped them away.

"I LOVE YOU"

She screamed, the jealousy burning through her voice. He, or whatever was left of him, shrugged.

**_"Pathetic."_ **

That was his voice. He remembered it. His voice, the one which roared in the Capital, which reverberated off of the walls of the castles, one which has already rewritten maps without even a fraction of the magical power that it took the witches and all of their disgusting brood to do it. It sounded so foreign. This voice didn't love, it commanded.

**_"You are pathetic."_ **

The being that was him, it loved saying that. This voice didn't hate, it destroyed.

**_"Your love..."_ **

This voice didn't bargain, it conquered.

**_"Is pathetic."_ **

This voice wasn't roses, it was steel.

This voice wasn't his.

Not yet.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So that's the President-sama I've been hearing so much about?" There was a small hint of amusement in that voice.

"Yes, that is Subaru Natsuki, though I think that we came at the wrong ti-" Subaru recognized Otto's voice.

"I'm up." He pronounced in a gravel voice and sat up as quickly as possible. "What has happened?"

Otto, wearing his purple travelling kit, smiled at Subaru, "Nothing special, but there is some news, I found you a spymaster candidate." Otto was excited, clearly, his eyes sparkling. "I think meeting him is quite important, all things considered." 

Subaru finally noticed the figure standing behind Otto, towering over the young man. The beast-man, clearly very amused by the scene of a drowsy president, took the pipe out of his mouth and gave a huge toothy smile, even the dangerous shine of his teeth in his wolf jaws not making him seem anything but friendly. 

"Nice to meet you, Su-san. I heard quite a lot of good things about you in Kararagi."

Subaru finally recognized the beast-man, his heart skipping a beat. _'No way that can be him...'_

Subaru got up, suddenly understanding why Otto wanted him to see the candidate as soon as possible, reflexively straightening the creases on his carmagnole jacket. "Why, I heard a lot of good things about you too,"

"Mister Halibel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite a dialogue-chapter, this one. Plus, we finally get to meet some of the Kararagian so-called elite, besides Anastasia, of course. Otherwise, and as always, criticism is welcome in the comments, hope you peoples enjoyed the chapter :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD


	13. The Companion

The world tumbled, it tumbled further and further and further, it fell and rose, lumbered towards the light and fell to the darkness. It all made sense, yet it was all nonsensical, the details being unreadable, but the whole picture coming together wonderfully, he just had to remember it.

He saw red eyes close, only to open in a new place, far below him. He saw a duo hanging from silver strings, dancing to a tune he couldn't make out. But one of them was missing, one of them had never touched the strings, yet at the same time, there was reason to believe that he SHOULD be on them.

Who exactly? Who needed to be on those strings?

"I love you." Who was that? A black hand grabbed him by the ankle.

"I love you." No no, stay away from me. It reached up and up and-

"I love you." LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE SEND ME BACK LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO 

IM SCARED IM SCARED IM SCARED IM SCARED

He was lying in the alleyway, his guts spilt all over the dirty ground. He was staring into her beautiful, sad, naive eyes, without a body. He was alone in the dark, his possessions long gone. He was dead in front of the inn, his arm opened up. They left him, they must have left him.

WHY DO THEY LEAVE ME WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO ME WHAT DID I DO WRONG

"I love you." The hands moved up to his heart.

DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU D-

"I love you"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subaru sat up, barely containing the scream that tore at the seams of his throat. 

"Ah, Sister, he has awa-" Subaru threw his legs over the side of the bed, getting up with near-automatic accuracy, and coming up to the window in front of him, putting his weight against the window sill to look out at the forest. 

It was just dawn. He clicked his tongue and stretched, making loud cracks with his joints, before looking at his right arm. No signs of scarring or a cut. Did he die again?

"Indeed, he has awakened, Rem. Though our visitor seems restless." A near-identical voice responded to the first, though it sounded a little bit lower. Subaru turned around, throwing a wide-eyed gaze at the two others in this... room. _'Where am I?'_

Two young women stood before him, nearly identical, except for their hair colours, blue and pink. Right now they responded to his stare with their own, clearly mistrustful if not slightly suspicious. _'Twins probably, judging by the uniform they may be servants, maids to be exact.'_

"I believe our guest is a pervert, Sister."

"He clearly is, look at how he's undressing us with his gaze, Rem."

Subaru ignored the accusation entirely. _'The blue one's more attentive, but is also the less dominant one of the two, probably. Hard to tell off of a couple of phrases, but we'll see.'_

Subaru proceeded to observe his surroundings. His clothes were gone, replaced what looked to be a bathrobe, or a hospital gown, a bizarre mix of the two. The room itself was clearly elevated, that much could be seen from the window's high positioning. The bed was made of oak and had fresh white linens on it, he clearly was in a well-off home. The same could be said for the walls, some gold patterns here and there, the home wasn't just well-off it was wealthy.

He finally stopped dissecting his surroundings having deduced as much as he could. He opened his mouth, his voice filled with gravel from the dehydration, "You're perverts aren't you?" 

The two clearly were not expecting the sudden turn of tables, neither of them maintaining their calm exteriors, their eyes widening momentarily, before quickly scrambling to return to their previous expressions, their actions almost in unison. Subaru felt a tinge of amusement at this little detail.

"I think our guest is delusional, Sister."

"Yes, he seems to be saying completely disgusting things, Rem." The two were able to continue to speak in their quick, near-monotonous voices.

"Not a single bit of delusion!" Subaru clarified, lifting a finger to stop both of them. "I have awoken in an unknown bed, with all my clothes missing, and you two staring intently at me. If that is not a basis for something very dangerous for yours truly, I don't know what is." 

"Emilia-sama really did not heal the man's brain, Rem." The pink one reiterated as she stared daggers at Subaru.

"Yes, Sister, he clea-"

"Why if you had known, I have not received any injuries to the head, but I suppose that you two were too focused on my lower half to care." Subaru fired back, not even allowing the blue maid to finish her sentence, as he put his hands behind his back and put his weight against the wall. _'So that's the name of their master... Huh...'_

The pink one seemed to begin to respond, only for the sound of the door opening up to push the three into silence.

His gaze darted to observe the new one. _'Silver hair, green crystal, long ears. An ever-so-slightly revealing outfit.'_ He cringed at the last thought. _'Satella, or rather...'_

The ice witch (his mind was too confused about what to call her, simply labelling her as such) put her hand on her waist, giving Subaru a motherly look, the fact ticking him off. "Can't you wake up more peacefully, Mister?" The tone was slightly reprimanding as if he was a school child. _'Well, I sure hope this style of conversation doesn't persist for too long...'_

Trying to get a hold of the conversation, the student attempted to take the helm. "Forgive me, I was simply recovering from slight disorientation after the whole... ordeal." The memory of the purple glint and his open arm rippled in the back of his mind, and he tried to strangle it and bury it deep, not wishing to remember, let alone speak of it. "And to clarify, my name is Subaru, Natsuki Subaru." He pushed off of the wall and turned to face Emilia gave the most convincing smile he could give, and made a small bow, "I suppose you were the one to help me out?"

"My name is Emilia, it is a pleasure to meet you." The girl responded, nodding at Subaru's introduction in a fairly polite, even if slightly shallow way.

"Miss Emilia, my dear sister was just violated by that man." The blue maid decided to speak up, not a single emotion being discernable in her voice as she pointed her finger at Subaru.

The red maid also followed suit, "Please listen to this, Miss Emilia. Rem was held prisoner and shamed by that man." Her finger also trailing Subaru's face.

"With all due respect, Miss Emilia, these two have watched me sleep barely an article of clothing on me. If anyone was shamed, it was I, especially considering my vulnerable state." Subaru responded, playing the two's game, and pointing at the red-haired maid specifically, considering she seemed to be calling the shots with her twin. _'When did I start speaking so formally..? Must be the nerves...'_

"You three, teasing isn't very nice." Emilia (Subaru felt a slight relief at finally finding the name) pronounced, her tone making it seem like she was the only grown-up in a room full of kids.

"Yes, Miss Emilia, my sister is very sorry." The blue-haired ( _'Rem? I think it was Rem, considering how her sister referred to her.'_ ) maid pronounced, bowing deeply.

"Certainly, Miss Emilia, Rem is also very sorry." The pink-haired sister again followed her sister's example, bowing, though not as deeply.

All three of the women trailed their gazes onto Subaru, as he continued to stand in silence. _'I think they're expecting the same thing from me...'_

"Well, I suppose my judgement was a bit too hasty. Miss Rem..." He froze up. _'Uh... What's the sister's name? No one mentioned it! Oh crap! Uh... how about-'_

"And Miss Ram, please accept my sincerest apology, I hope that I have not offended you too deeply."

_'Did you/I just Tweedledum-and-Tweedledee their names?'_

_'Well, I sure hope that the vowel I guessed was correct...'_

Rem and the pink-haired maid looked at him with uncontrollable surprise, even if that powerful emotion was only displayed by the slightest raise of the eyebrows, while Emilia smiled happily, "Oh! I see you have already introduced yourselves to each other!"

"Yes... we did..." Pronounced Ram suspiciously as she continued to give Subaru the stink-eye. 

"Of course..." Rem also responded her eyes burrowing into Subaru.

On the other hand, the student now felt extremely uncomfortable as he smiled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. _'I suppose me 'knowing' their names pre-emptively does make me more suspicious... Oops.'_

"That's great, but besides that," Emilia dragged the group's attention back to herself. "Is there anything I can help you with, Mister Subaru? Do any of your injuries still disturb you?" She pronounced with the same polite distance, as if they were strangers.

Subaru then finally remembered. _'But we ARE strangers. How could I forget, she isn't the same one as the first loop!'_ He shook his head, putting his hands into his robe's pockets, a self-conscious if not suspicious move. "Just Subaru, please, and I have no problem standing up, and my head is as clear as it can get after so much oversleeping, so I don't think that there are any injuries left to speak of. Otherwise, would you know where I could find my old set of clothes and my bag back? While I am thankful for this..." He lifted his hands and did a small spin, demonstrating the robe, before stopping and putting his hands back in his pockets. "I just really want to return my belongings."

The simple question seemed to blindside Emilia, "A-ah... well... your clothes and bag..." She looked away guiltily. Subaru felt a frustration build up as he understood what this implied.

"Your clothes were damaged, so we have decided to throw them away, Mister Subaru." Rem intervened coldly, completely unfazed by any emotion that could be boiling under that eerily calm, though passive-aggressive, mask. "Your bag also didn't seem to hold anything besides some wastepaper, Mister Roswaal decided that you would probably not need all the tinder."

"Y-yes, but do not worry, I am completely sure that Mister Ros-" Emilia began.

"Where did you throw them away?" Subaru pronounced in a very focused and steely manner as he looked down as to not give away his expression fully, his fists tightening in his pockets.

"P-pardon?" Emilia seemed to weaken under pressure quite easily, he noted. Her forte was maintaining positive relations and acting off of those, but she was like a rotten floorboard. Try to step on it, and it'll crumble. 

_'No, that would be a wrong assumption as well... There is more to her, probably. I just need to test the waters a little...'_

_'Calm down... Calm down... You can still get them back...'_ Subaru consciously did a couple of deep breaths, the frustration stepping back, letting his thoughts flow freer. He looked up and flashed a calming smile. "Could you tell me where you threw away my clothes and bag? I just believe that it would be such a waste, and anyways, I can fix up any damage done."

The half-elf also seemed to relax instantly, clearly relieved that the student didn't seem enraged anymore, "Ah, of course, of course! Rem was the one who threw them out, I believe she can lead you there." Emilia looked in the direction of the blue-haired maid, Subaru following her gaze.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up a little. The blue maid's gaze had quickly moved away, disappearing into the direction of Emilia.

_'She was watching me. Very intently, and most certainly with no friendly intentions.'_ He unconsciously rubbed his neck and sneakily threw a gaze at the red-haired maid, just to check. He was met with an apathetic stare into the window as Ram was clearly more interested in the birds outside than the new guest. _'I'm not even sure if I should feel reassured, or insulted...'_

"Of course, I shall escort our guest, Miss Emilia." Rem replied monotonously. "I believe that the clothes were in the trash pile." She turned on her heel and headed for the door, before stopping in the doorway and giving Subaru a brief expectant look, a familiar emotion visible behind the mask of indifference.

Subaru snapped out of his observations of the maid. It felt... off. This was not the average approach of someone who was neutral, neigh even hostile people tend to act differently. It reminded him a bit of...

He shuddered. The Bowel Hunter wasn't here, but something in that gaze, something was shared. He felt his heart drop. _'It must be a-'_

"Mr Subaru, I believe you wanted me to escort you to your clothing." The maid noted annoyedly, "Or was I incorrect in my assumption?"

The student corrected himself, his smile returning. "Forgive me, Rem, I believe I was deep in thought." To no surprise, his attempt at some sort of familiarity through the use of Rem's name had only gotten him a cold gaze from the blue-haired maid.

"Undressing Rem in his thoughts." Snickered Ram from the side, "Barusu is clearly just a perverted jester at best."

Subaru preferred to ignore his butchered name and the insult. "So shall we go?" 

Rem nodded and walked out of the room, Subaru also lumbering behind her as his body accustomed after the long sleep he received.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thankfully most of the books were undamaged, the bag having not been emptied (though Subaru noted, someone clearly looked through his books). There was, however, nothing he could do with his blazer, disappointment dully drilling into his temples. Even with his experience of sewing, connecting the two separate parts, split by the assassin's blade, was nearly impossible, and if it was possible, he wasn't the man to do it. His shoes were a pointless thing to go over, they were going to be uncomfortable in this world, not designed for the constant walking and cobbled roads of this medieval nation. Keeping the tie also felt impractical. The only thing that he could really fix was his white ripped shirt and grey pants.

The red thread went through the two halves of his ripped right sleeve, as the student carefully but precisely resown the rip. While he wanted to continue arguing with Rem to give him white thread instead, the coldness in her tone invoked the idea that the lack of the white thread IN THE WHOLE MANSION was not a simple coincidence. 

_'Well,'_ He pondered as he finished working on the shirt, a prominent red streak now proudly occupying his right sleeve. _'I could just say that it's a fashion statement...'_

He threw on the revived article of clothing, rolled up his sleeves and pulled on his pants, before turning to face the mirror. _'What am I missing? Oh yes, footwear.'_

He popped his head out of the changing room (the fact that the mansion even had one DID surprise him) and looked around, spotting Rem in the corner, looking quite annoyed. "Pardon me, Miss Rem?"

The blue-haired maid moved her gaze onto him, her eyebrows instantly knitting, "Yes, Mister Subaru?" Even through all the neutrality, Subaru could taste the thorns in her voice.

"As awkward as it is, could I please borrow some footwear from the mansion? Mine is slightly out of commission." He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, trying to appeal to SOME form of adorkableness.

Rem wasn't impressed, as she stood up and waved her hand for Subaru to follow her, the student sighing and following without much protest. _'In the end, at least I'll get some proper shoes.'_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sighed. Of course, if she was going to give him any shoes, they would be from a basement armoury and the oldest pair she could find. _'At least it's simple hostility, not whatever the purple-eyed monster had against me.'_ In a bizarre way, he was relieved.

As he tried on the dusty three-strap cavalry boots, he surveyed the room. Swords, sets of light and heavy armour, several uniforms, crossbows, bolts, arrows, daggers and what looked like a huge Morningstar on a chain.

_'Damn, the whole place feels like a fortress more than anything...'_ He tapped his foot on the ground. As aged as the shoes were, they still seemed fairly well-functional, the tall design stabilizing his foot rather well. Standing up he tapped his sole on the ground and chuckled. As uncomfortable as the falling apart leather felt, being dressed in something military still was a nice confidence booster.

"Is Mr Subaru pleased with his outfit?" Rem's voice echoed in the underground, her tone seemingly permanently stuck in an undertone of scorn. 

"Yes, this is more than satisfactory, thank you very much." He attempted to give her a smile again, only to be met by a cold emotionless look. _'Well, I suppose she will just warm up to me on the go, I can't say I'm the worst at maintaining appearances. Though it's quite hard to get anything on her, her speech is so... mechanical...'_

"Very well, then I wanted to let you talk with your companion." Rem stood up from the dusty wooden stool in the corner, dusting off her maid outfit and turning around yet again to lead Subaru to the next room.

"Companion?" 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subaru poked the sleeping thief in the cheek, the kid in a set of yellow pyjamas tossing in her sleep and turning on the other side, hugging the pillow. _'She's just a kid, Hell, she's a bit like some of my classmates' little sisters.'_ He concluded grimly, standing up from his squat position, facing Rem. _'She'd be starting high school now, and getting stupid crushes, not having to throw herself at danger to get enough bread for the next day.'_

Natsuki Subaru prouded himself on his rationality. Dragging this dead weight with him wasn't rational, actually the opposite. But somewhere deep down, very far, he did feel a sort of empathy.

"Are you suggesting that she is not your companion?" Rem pronounced in an undisturbed manner as she observed the two from the doorway. "Or is your explanation suggesting that you decided to make her your companion?"

"Well, can't really say she is, considering that I barely know her. I just felt that leaving her to d-" 

"Then when she wakes up, I will ensure she leaves as promptly as possible." Rem nodded. "Sorry for the misundersta-"

"No." Subaru retorted, surprising even himself.

"Pardon?" Rem responded in mock surprise, clearly displeased by the sudden change of mind.

"I said, no." The student pushed his statement. _'Hell, why am I protecting this little rat..?'_ His vision clouded for a second as his own mind reminded him. Shit hovels, violent drunks, murderers, rapists, A dead overseer, or whomever that Grom guy was to her.

In many ways, his entrance into this world, a short-term arrival for maybe a couple of months or so while he figures out how to get back home, had destroyed the kid's life, for worse or for better. Whether he liked it or not, the ruin she received was on his hands as well. And one thing that Subaru preferred, was to keep his hands clean, at least to himself.

If he was going to leave, then at least he'd pull this rat out of the dumpster, "I believe I misspoke, Miss Rem. Felt HAS become my companion, though only recently. She is with me." 

Rem sighed and shrugged, "I can only suggest that, with all due respect, Mister Subaru expresses himself slightly more clearly, as to avoid any incidents." Her tone became even more distant, as she looked away.

"Of course..." Subaru looked at Felt, peacefully asleep. _'Well, I got myself and others into this mess, might as well drag as many out of it.'_

The blue-haired maid nodded, "I suppose it will be time for breakfast in about an hour or so. I also believe your companion shall be awake soon. I shall leave Mister Subaru to catch up with their companion."

"Wait actua-" The student took a step forward, but the maid had already disappeared behind the door, the clicking of her shoes echoing farther and farther down the hall. 'Strange...'

He heard a rustle behind him and a yawn. The student turned around and put on as calming an expression as he could: Relaxed smile, neutral eye-brow positioning, straight posture.

The blonde thief's eyes darted left and right, as she seemed to shrink away from her surroundings, and at the same time tense up, like a cat about to be attacked.

_'Well, I suppose such anxieties are to be expected.'_ "Good morning, Fe-" 

Before he could finish his sentence, the lavender-filled vase that stood by the side of the bed smashed into his face with extreme precision and force, his brain dimming with a concussion.

As he passed out, his mind noted one last detail.

_'I should really learn how to dodge...'_ His head hit the wooden floor and the world went silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo people! Another Newbie Subaru chapter! A brief introduction to his new appearance, and several short snapshots of his further relationships with surrounding characters, though unfortunately not as much story progression that usually comes with my chapters. Also, this is officially the most I have ever narrated of his inner thoughts!
> 
> Otherwise, critique, critique, critique! Love me some ways to improve!


	14. The Commisar

"Hotdamn, Otto, you worked your magic, I suppose." The revolutionary raised his glass filled with some weak wine and grinned at the white-haired merchant, who in turn took a swig from his bottle and responded with a smug smile.

"Well, President Natsuki, you told me to find a good candidate, I simply followed orders." Otto slurred, the alcohol and the exhaustion of travel relaxing him completely. 

Unlike him, Subaru maintained sobriety, after all, while Otto still had the whole day to rest after the long road, the revolutionary still had a long day ahead... but a small glass never hurt. "Well, I just hope you can keep following my orders so well, because if so, we'll be marching through the gates of Lupgana in less than a month." 

Both snickered, and both took another gulp of wine, from the bottle or from the glass. In the end, Subaru thought, Otto probably stayed the least changed. More confident and capable, yes, but still, the least compromised. Talking like this, it felt like Pre-Revolt times, when his whole movement had just been born out of aimlessness. Still no bandit gangs, no Heinkel or Chin, no roses, just two idealists, a roving group of fools and a half-functioning printing press.

"But say, how, HOW, in the name of all that is holy, did you get him on our side? Because if you offered him my jacket, I'm shooting you then myself." Subaru 'joked' again.

"Oh please, if anyone wants that carmine rag, it would be the Mad Prince! Now imagine that bastard crossing to our side!" Otto gave a drunk giggle and sat back in the wooden chair, closing his eyes, "Though it's not like the Gustekans would let him go."

"It's all impossible until you do it, and looking at our wolf-like friend, I think that nothing's impossible now." Subaru put his legs up on the table, "But seriously, how did you drag him into our camp?"

Otto's expression became slightly less confident as he proceeded to sigh, and place the bottle on the floor next to the chair he was sitting on, "Honestly, I actually didn't scout him, he just recognised me and asked if there were any positions open."

The revolutionary gave out a surprised laugh, "What, just like that?"

Otto smiled, though the acknowledgement that the achievement wasn't completely his clearly disappointed him, "Yes, just like that. I honestly didn't believe it at first. My first search was in Flanders, then I was thinking of going into Ladrima, those towns have the renown for such occupations, but then he just came up to me on the street." Otto then suddenly frowned, his lips turning down, "Then again, what would a Kararagian be doing in a town all the way by the Augria Dunes?"

Natsuki also frowned, "Quite a distance from the border, Pleaides Watchtower and all. You're thinking he searched you out?"

Otto shook his head and picked up the bottle to take a sip again, "No... at least not likely. The closest reasoning for him to do it would be undermining us, and considering the Royal Underground, I don't think he'd need to go this far." The alcohol seemed to mellow him out but at the same time make him more susceptible to the defeatism Subaru hadn't had to deal with since the setback in the Rose March, "Man, usually I would look in Priestella..." He complained, "Fucking Vincent and his band of brutes..."

Subaru wouldn't lie, the siege on Priestella was his biggest failure, a loss of a trade centre that he would never be able to recover to its old state, and even if Lugnica re-annexed it, it would not fully return in his lifetime. He would also not lie that he despised Vincent Vollachia, who, while older, was probably the closest thing Natsuki had to an equal. _'Or so I like to think...'_ Subaru stopped his ego. In the end, Napoleon didn't fall because he was a fool, he fell because he was overconfident.

"Well, they've paid their price in Heavenly Generals." Subaru snickered, "And got a sunken wreck out of it. What were they again?"

Otto took another sip lazily, "Didn't we take out that golden bastard?"

The revolutionary lifted his finger, "Goz Raflon, good old scarface, got what came to him for not wearing a helmet." He then wondered again, "Chisha... I think it was Chisha Gold, right?"

Otto nodded, "Body double went down, but can't really say that was our best moment. Wasn't he the weakest?"

Subaru nodded and lifted his second finger, "Well, yeah, but a Heavenly General is a Heavenly General for a reason. Alright, who was that panda thing?"

The merchant chuckled, "The fuck's a panda? You're talking about Groovy?"

Natsuki nodded, barring his teeth and raising the third finger, "Now if there was anyone that I thought should've been put down, that ninja fuck was one for sure. Nothing more annoying than that blade-weidling prick."

Otto nodded, "Bullets really got us the advantage that time... Alright, Balleroy and Olbart both croaked before they even had the chance to participate in the whole intervention, one in the conspiracy and the other was geriatric..."

Subaru took a sip from his cup, lifting another two fingers, "Mhm mhm..."

The merchant sighed, "And so we have... what... Cecils, Mogro, and Arakiya, plus Vincent."

"Five so-called Heavenly Generals. Not a bad catch, not bad at all." Subaru sneered.

"It's three, let's not get greedy with our count," Otto interjected.

"Even so, we sure did spit in their eye with the whole, 'no step back or we kill you ourselves' doctrine backfiring." Subaru stood up from his table and picked up his empty wine glass, "In the end, no matter how fearless your soldiers are during a swordfight, that won't save them from the new generation of warfare we brought up."

Otto stood up, swaying slightly and sitting down again, putting his face in his hands. "Well, let's hope they haven't learned a single thing between then and whenever we're bringing the fight to them." The merchant hiccuped, "I think... I think I should go rest up..."

"Yes, have the whole day off." Subaru frowned, burrowing his gaze into the merchant, who seemed to be about to protest, "You travelled the whole night, you won't do much meaningful work like this."

Otto tried to stand up from the chair again but flopped back with a creak. "Ahhh, fine then. Just gimme a moment..." 

Subaru walked out from behind the table and lifted the empty bottle, "It's fine, it's fine. Take your time." He took a couple of steps towards the door and pressed down on the handle, the heavy oak budging with a heavy click.

"You going..?" Mumbled Otto, his eyes already closed as his chin already touched his chest, "Jus...." He mumbled off sleepily.

Subaru silently shut the door and tapped the shoulder of the guard near the door, the Infantryman instantly standing at the ready and staring attentively, "You hear snoring, go get him home."

The soldier blinked confusedly and nodded, clearly too scared to disappoint the revolutionary, _'Oh yes, I suppose he doesn't know where Otto lives.'_ "Scratch that, get him to one of the higher floor rooms and put him on some bed or another. Just make sure that he's well-guarded."

The haze of confusion lifted from the Infantryman's eyes and he nodded, this time more comprehensively. "At ease, soldier." Subaru pronounced calmly and began to walk to the exit, as he thought over where to dispose of the bottle and glass.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"While I am not one for luxury, Su-san, why are we here?" The wolf-man sneezed at the dust, a small cloud rising into the stale air of the abandoned winery. 

"Just as the note said, we are here on business." Natsuki looked out of the narrow window of the ground floor to see the visibility. As he expected, the glass was too narrow for any curious rubberneck to look in. 

"With all due respect, Su-san, that ain't the most detailed job description." Halibel pronounced jovially as he lit up his pipe. "And while I can take a good stiff drink, I wasn't thinking that I would be Lugnica's first vintner."

Subaru chuckled, "Of course not, this isn't why we're here." The revolutionary threw his gaze at the dark bowels of the building, the crude brick walls stretching into the seemingly infinite void. "This, my friend, shall be the base of your operations."

Halibel seemed slightly surprised, but that passed quickly, "You mean..."

The revolutionary turned around and grinned, "Why of course, after all, any Internal Affairs must have a headquarters to return to and a place to hold all the dangerous counter-revolutionaries."

"Huh..." Halibel pronounced thoughtfully and walked up to the decrepit brick wall of the winery, and began to slowly knock on some of the bricks, his ears moving in one direction or another, trying to pick up some sort of noise.

Unsure of how to react, Subaru continued, "Of course, we will have a budget for you and your activities, but for now it will have to be very limited as to-"

Halibel, seemingly having found the brick he was looking for, smashed his clawed fist against it, the whole wall shaking and the brick cracking under the unstoppable force of the wolf-man's fist. Subaru jumped back, his eyes widening, "Fuck!" The building shook, dust falling on the revolutionary's shoulders. Halibel maintained his punching stance, his fist still planted in the brick.

The building gave out a pained groan, before suddenly going silent, the shaking seizing, though some dust and tick-like woodcrawlers continued to fall from the roof. Subaru dusted off, crushing a woodcrawler trying to burrow in his jacket, the insect dying with a small pop.

Halibel's kimono somehow had not a single speck on it, as the wolf-man turned around and grinned, giving Subaru a thumbs up. "I like this building, good security."

The revolutionary shook his head, the whole event shaking his nerves, "Well what if it didn't?!"

Halibel looked at his fist, "Oh you mean what if it collapsed?" He waved his claws dismissively, "Nah, I was careful. Just checking the building's impact resistance." 

Subaru sighed. While he could generally handle eccentricity to some extent, this felt much more bizarre than usual. _'Well, I suppose we will just have to see how he continues on...'_

"Anyways, as I was saying, you'll get a budget, that's for one year. Set up as well as you can, get control of the surrounding areas and knock the counter-revolutionary movements out." Subaru continued, settling into the usual role of the leader. "As of now, we have three main problems on the inner side: The Royal Underground, The Independent Territories, and general provocateur movements, especially from Gusteko. As a side project, please look into the Sin Apostles, though those are not as much of a problem considering the removal of the Lugnican Archbishops. I'll make sure you get documentation on them from Chin, though don't expect too much accuracy from the militias, a lot of the holes in the information you'll have to fill in yourself." 

"Independent Territories..." Halibel pronounced thoughtfully, "I heard that they were beastmen and ex-slaves, right?"

"Correct." Subaru took out his powder box and applied some on his gums absent-mindedly, making a half-turn to the exit, clearly ready to leave Halibel to work.

"Then why are you fighting them, Su-san?" The question rang in the dead silence of the winery, and while Halibel's tone maintained it's joviality, the question was definitely loaded with some sub-text. Subaru snapped the powder box shut and slid it into his pocket.

"Well, because most of them are not simply beastmen and ex-slaves." Subaru didn't turn around to explain. "They're separatists, they undermine, they lie, they propagandize, and most importantly, many of them wish to kill those that have enslaved or oppressed them, that being the merchants and the humans." 

"And you see, Halibel." He turned back around to look into the wolf-man's eyes, his gaze calm but forceful, "While I can understand killing slave hunters that come into their territory, many of those they seek to annihilate never had any harm in mind. Freedom is a two-way street, and if one tried to extend their freedom to the murder of other liberty-seekers, well, then that's where we step in." He straightened out his carmagnole jacket, his tone relaxing slightly, his eyes drifting, "Further, we got a lot of evidence that these groups are sponsored by outside forces, and by inside hostile elements, a la Felix. They don't fight for their own freedoms, they are puppets to hurt the republic..."

Halibel maintained a short silence before speaking again, as he clearly attempted to express what he thought, "Well, these things don't pop up without reason, now do they, Su-san." 

"Their reason is our destruction, my friend." Subaru cut in, "And unfortunately I can't grant them that." He turned around to leave, stopping at the sunlit entrance, "I expect progress reports from you, preferably bi-daily. Otherwise, good luck." The revolutionary stepped into the light, leaving the shinobi in tense silence.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otto had already been carried out of his office by the time he was back. The document had progressed well over the evening, but the inspiration of the post-Massacre night was gone, the words laying down either too coldly and monotonously or too brazenly and emotionally. _'I'll just correct it when the time comes...'_

Five pages... the uniformity of the citizen before the law...

Ten pages... the duty to serve in the army and the establishment of a professional one...

Thirty pages... the enforcement of the republic system of rulership...

At the fiftieth he stopped, the juices finally running dry. He wasn't completely sure of what time it was, but then again, he had nowhere to run. The National Convention would be held again only in two days, and he would have to re-state his commitments to the war effort, blah blah blah. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

So that's why it's so hard to NOT be a monarch. This would be much easier if he didn't have to keep up the appearance as he tried to establish this system. He could stamp the underground bastards with all the brutality he needed, without fearing how he would explain it. He could tell the papers what to write, so all the pro-monarchists could stop their damn bitching. He could impose all of his progress on this world...

He shook his head. Of course not. In the end, he needed to make sure he could be a good example for those who would call on his ideas in the future...

And yet, it called to him. The easy road, the beacon of power. He stood up from behind the desk.

"Being locked in here all day just makes me think strange things..." He smiled to himself, "Maybe I need a break myself... or at least some sleep in an ACTUAL bed..." He stood up. "Well, fuck it. It's all calm for now, I should go and get a rest myse-"

He suddenly noticed the echoing noise of rushing boots down the hall. It was silent at first, then louder and louder, as it approached his door. 

He felt a foreboding feeling. People rarely ran here. Subaru sat back down again, and waited...

There was a rapid knock on his door, "Come in..." It was bad news.

The Infantryman marched in his face pale as snow. _'Yes, clearly bad news.'_

"Permission to report?!" The soldier pronounced. He seemed to be nervewracked.

"Permission granted." Subaru crossed his arms over his chest, observing the bearer of bad news closely.

"We need your immediate presence, sir." 

Subaru felt a small frost cover his stomach and braced for the next big dump life took on his plans.

The soldier gulped. "It's... it's Commisar Hoffman, sir..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some word-building here, some mystery there, the Revolutionary shall have to march on! Aside from that, and as always, please put criticism in the comments! Thanks and see ya next chapter!


End file.
